by Hailey Bullis and Mabinty Quarshie at Washington Examiner
One month after President Donald Trump issued mass clemency for all of the defendants convicted for their actions during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, some of them want to see more from the president and the government.
Jan. 6 Capitol rioters Stewart Rhodes, who was one of the 14 who received a commutation, and Christopher Quaglin, who received a full pardon, were among the attendees at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort in National Harbor, Maryland.
Trump issued mass clemency to almost all of the Jan. 6 defendants during his first day in office, fulfilling a promise he made on the campaign trail. At least 1,583 people were charged over the Capitol riot, with roughly 200 pleading guilty to felonies and more than 220 others were convicted in trials that included attacks on law enforcement.
Rhodes, the founder and leader of the Oath Keepers, told the Washington Examiner that he felt the first 30 days of Trump’s second term were “fantastic” and said he was grateful to be out of prison. However, Rhodes also pushed to be given a full pardon from Trump, saying that he and the 13 others who received needed one.
“I need my veterans benefits restored. I got a really nasty letter from the VA saying that, because of my conviction, I’m no longer, you can only get any veterans, I’m a disabled vet. But they said I have no longer any right to any disability payments or healthcare, or I can no longer be buried in a veteran cemetery, which is a really horrific insult to a veteran,” Rhodes said. “So I want my rights back, my right to bear arms back; in Texas, where I’m from, I can’t vote.”
Rhodes, who was found guilty of seditious conspiracy and other charges,…