Violent Capital Rioter pardoned by Trump, re-arrested on federal gun charges
On January 20, the day of his 2025 presidential inauguration, Donald Trump issued a sweeping pardon for approximately 1,500 individuals charged in connection with the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots and insurrection. Those pardons included almost all the rioters, including those that were convicted of violent acts, according to Twin Cities and The Associated Press. On January 22, The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida re-arrested one of those violent rioters on gun charges.
Daniel Charles Ball, previously accused of attacking police with an explosive device during the Capitol Riot, was one of those January 6 insurrectionists who had his case dismissed after receiving a full pardon from President Trump. The 39-year-old Homosassa, Florida, man was re-arrested yesterday though on charges of being “found in possession of a firearm as a convicted felon,” according to The Hill and ABC News.
Related, see:
- Capitol Riot: Florida man arrested on felony charges of assaulting an officer, setting off an explosive, more (May 4, 2023)
- Trump pardons U.S. Capitol rioters, including those convicted of violent crimes and felonies (Jan. 21, 2025)
- Daniel Charles Ball Arrest Warrant (Jan. 22, 2025)
Ball’s criminal history includes at least three previous felony convictions, including convictions for domestic violence battery by strangulation in 2017 and assaulting law enforcement in 2021. As of this writing at least, his arrest marks the first instance of a January 6 defendant facing new legal trouble following Trump’s mass pardon.
In May 2023, Ball was charged with the following felony offenses in connection with his participation in the attack on the U.S. Capitol:
- assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon;
- using fire or an explosive to commit any felony;
- obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder;
- entering or remaining on restricted grounds without lawful authority to do so while carrying or using a deadly or dangerous weapon;
- knowingly engaging in any act of physical violence while carrying or using a deadly or dangerous weapon; and
- disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds while carrying or using a deadly or dangerous weapon.
Ball was also charged with misdemeanor offenses of disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; acts of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings; and stealing government property.
Ball’s recent re-arrest also underscores ongoing concerns about the behavior of those involved in the Capitol attack and the implications of the pardons granted – especially with many of those having been freed having been previously convicted of violent acts.
In a joint statement, The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) – which endorsed Trump in this election – and the The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) wrote that they were “deeply discouraged by the recent pardons and commutations granted by both the Biden and Trump Administrations to individuals convicted of killing or assaulting law enforcement officers.” ~ Rolling Stone
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Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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