Former President Donald Trump has indicated that if he is re-elected in November, he will pardon many of his supporters who were convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. In the upcoming 2024 elections, several convicted rioters and other individuals involved in the events leading up to the Capitol attack are running for local and national offices. The primary in the race to replace retiring Rep. John Sarbanes of Maryland, featuring former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, who confronted rioters on Jan. 6, is set for May 14. NBC News has identified numerous candidates running for office this year who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6 or attended the Trump rally that preceded the events, though many have not responded to requests for comment.
One such candidate is Kimberly Dragoo from Missouri, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for her involvement in the Capitol attack and is now running for a seat on the St. Joseph Board of Education. Michele Morrow from North Carolina won the Republican primary for State Superintendent of Public Education, though she has not been charged in connection with Jan. 6. Jason Riddle from New Hampshire, who pleaded guilty to entering the Capitol and theft of government property, is running for Congress in New Hampshire’s Second District. Anthony Kern, a current member of the Arizona Senate, who attended the “Stop the Steal” rally, is running for Congress in Arizona’s 8th District.
The “QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley, who was sentenced to 41 months in prison for felony obstruction of a proceeding after his involvement in the Jan. 6 attack, has indicated that he is running for Congress in Arizona as a libertarian. Derrick Evans, a former West Virginia state lawmaker who was sentenced to three months in prison for his role in Jan. 6, is now running for Congress in West Virginia’s 1st District. Katrina Pierson, a former Trump spokesperson, is heading to a runoff in her bid for Texas’ 33rd state House District. Several other candidates involved in the Jan. 6 events, including Ryan Zink, Phillip Sean Grillo, and Bianca Gracia, have already lost their bids for office in this election cycle.
Candidates like Dragoo, Morrow, Riddle, Kern, Chansley, Evans, and Pierson are among those running for office this year despite their involvement in the events of Jan. 6. Many of them have not responded to requests for comment from NBC News regarding their candidacy or past actions. The upcoming 2024 elections will see a mix of individuals on both sides of the Jan. 6 clash vying for local and national offices, raising questions about accountability and the potential impact of their past actions on their political futures. It remains to be seen how voters will respond to these candidates and their connections to the events of Jan. 6.
