President Trump pardons more than 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants, including 11 from Wisconsin

Editor’s note: This post contains language that some may find offensive.

Four years have passed since a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters violently smashed and pushed their way into the U.S. Capitol during a chaotic attempt to prevent former President Joe Biden from taking office. On Monday, just after his inauguration, Trump pardoned them all with a stroke of his pen.

The FBI has classified the melee as an act of domestic terrorism, which injured around 140 police officers. Nationally, more than 1,500 people were charged with federal crimes. Eleven of those defendants were from Wisconsin.

In his proclamation granting the pardons, Trump said he was ending “a grave national injustice.” While there had been talk in recent weeks that Trump might not pardon Jan. 6 defendants charged with violent acts, in the end, he pardoned everyone.

Here’s where the cases against those Wisconsin defendants stood before the sweeping pardon was issued Monday evening:

Riley Kasper

During the Jan. 6 riot, Riley Kasper of Saxon was seen wearing a gray jacket, camouflage facemask and a tan camouflage backpack at the Capitol. The FBI’s statement of facts includes screenshots of YouTube videos in which Kasper is seen shooting a can of pepper spray at police officers responding to the riot.

The FBI included private messages Kasper sent to another individual as part of their case.

“I pepper sprayed 3 cops so bad they got undressed and went home, gentry brazed many others several times,” Kasper said. “I basically organized my own little militia and we f—— took over Congress.”

He later told his associate that he planned to make “pepper balls (paintballs that explode capsicum dust on impact)” to shoot at officers.

“I don’t know what it is, can’t quite put my finger on It,” Kasper’s message said. “But there is definitely something satisfying about pepper spraying cops in riot gear and watching them run from you like a b—-.”

In April 2024, Kasper pleaded guilty to assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers or employees and was sentenced to 37 months in prison followed by two years probation and was ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.

Joseph Cattani

Joseph Cattani of Colgate told FBI investigators he was at the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6 and said the crowd became “hyped up” after Trump said he would walk to the Capitol with them. He walked up the stairs of the Capitol and claimed he was pushed inside by the crowd.

The FBI said open source videos show him pulling on a face shield worn by an officer attempting to stop the rioters.

Once inside, the FBI said surveillance video shows him moving up stairs to the Senate gallery until leaving the building through a broken window.

Cattani was arrested in September 2023 and charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding officers, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, civil disorder, entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

He has pleaded not guilty to all six charges against him and a jury trial has been set for July 7, 2025.

Michael Fitzgerald

Michael Fitzgerald of Janesville was recorded by Capitol security cameras near the front of a group of rioters who pushed past a podium police were using to block a doorway to the Capitol.

During the push, objects were thrown at police and another rioter can be seen attempting to hit officers with a poll flying a Trump 2020 flag.

Once inside, the FBI alleges Fitzgerald spent around 40 minutes in the Capitol before leaving through a window. Because he was one of the first to enter the building, he was listed as number 32 on an FBI list of those wanted in connection to the violence that day.

Fitzgerald turned himself in three days later and had been charged with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, civil disorder, obstructing an official proceeding, entering a restricted building and remaining in a restricted building or grounds.

After initially agreeing to an interview with WPR in the weeks leading up to Trump’s inauguration, Fitzgerald said medical issues kept him from being able to talk with a reporter. In December, he told WISN-AM he was struck by an “incendiary round” and a less-lethal projectile near the stage being built for Biden’s inauguration.

“I felt like they were shooting tear gas, rounds and munitions at us and behind us to kind of corral us like cattle up the staircases,” Fitzgerald said. 

He claims he was pushed by the crowd behind him and once he was inside the Capitol, he knew that he “shouldn’t be in there” and spent most of his time in a restroom addressing symptoms of what would later be diagnosed as colon cancer.

“I’m not one that is naive to say I didn’t do anything wrong,” Fitzgerald said. “I would be responsible for being inside the Capitol. I have no problem with taking responsibility for that charge.”

Fitzgerald’s case had been ongoing since April 2021. In his profile on the social media site X, he describes himself as a veteran, father and “J6 Defendant, Maga. 34on FBI Most Wanted.”

Paul Kovacik

Google GPS location data showed Paul Kovacik of Milwaukee was at the U.S. Capitol according to the FBI’s statement of facts, which states he entered on the west side and took an elevator to the third floor. He told an agent over the phone that when he exited the elevator, a person he was with threw “some type of sticks” at police one level below.

Kovacik said he had been in the Capitol for around one-and-a-half hours and recorded multiple videos.

Kovacik pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building and was sentenced to 90 days incarceration and three years probation.

After being granted additional time to finish his seasonal job before beginning his prison sentence, a U.S. Marshal testified that Kovacik fled to Ireland. Kovacik later turned himself in and told investigators he “claimed asylum” with the Irish government for fear of political persecution in the U.S. 

Ultimately, Kovacik was sentenced to 120 days in prison with credit for time served along with one year probation. 

Kevin Loftus

Kevin Loftus was living in Eau Claire when he drove to Washington for the Jan. 6, 2021 “Stop the Steal” rally. The FBI’s statement of facts says that while wearing a brown coat, backpack and carrying an American flag attached to a piece of lumber, Loftus entered the U.S. Capitol.

The FBI complaint against him shows screenshots he posted to Facebook where he claims to be “One of 700 inside” the building.

“That’s right folks some of us are in it to win it,” Loftus said in a subsequent comment.

Loftus pleaded guilty in 2021 to a charge of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building and was sentenced to three years probation, 60 hours community service and $500 restitution.

It was reported last month that while living in Texas during his probation, Loftus, who is a U.S. Army veteran, was stopped while trying to board a Turkish Airlines flight destined for Tbilisi, Georgia when airline employees spotted a “security flag.”

He was arrested in Iowa three days later and told the FBI he was trying to get a temporary visa to travel to Russia in hopes of applying for temporary residency. He told agents he paid a man around $1,200 to buy equipment for Russian soldiers.

“Loftus said his intent was to fight for Russia against Ukraine,” said a December sentencing memorandum.

Loftus was sentenced to six months in prison for violating his probation.

David Charles Mish 

One day after the Capitol riot, David Charles Mish Jr. of West Allis called the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department to tell them he had information about the fatal shooting of Ashli Babbitt, according to the FBI’s statement of facts. Babbitt was shot as she climbed through a broken window next to a barricaded door leading to the U.S. House of Representatives Speaker’s Lobby.

Mish told a detective he was at the Speaker’s Lobby door when the shooting took place. The FBI said video from inside the Capitol confirmed his presence.

Mish pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building and was sentenced to 30 days in jail and $500 restitution.

Charles Walters

Charles Walters of Sparta is facing felony and misdemeanor charges, including destruction of property, for his actions during the Jan. 6 riot. The FBI’s statement of facts says Walters was seen in videos kicking a black railing installed for Biden’s inauguration until it broke. In another video, he was seen rummaging through a refrigerator in the Senate Parliamentarian’s Office.

In an interview with Sparta police officers, he said he was at the Capitol and was wearing a “black ballistic military-style vest” and was only in the building for a few minutes. Subsequent videos showed Walters wearing a black “riot-style helmet” and a black mask over his face. 

Walters, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, pleaded guilty to entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds and a misdemeanor charge of destruction of government property. He was sentenced to six months incarceration, 24 months of probation, 60 hours community service and $3,170 restitution.

Joshua Munn

Joshua Munn of Melrose was inside the Capitol on Jan. 6 with four family members, according to the FBI’s statement of facts.

In private Facebook messages obtained by the FBI, Munn told an acquaintance that his family marched on Washington and “it was extremely cool.” He said he was with a group that was not violent and claimed the violence “all came from the police believe it or not.”

Munn pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building and was sentenced to 36 months probation and $500 restitution. 

Brandon Nelson and Abram Markofski 

Brandon Nelson and Abram Markofski of La Crosse told FBI investigators that they were at the Ellipse to attend Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally before entering the Capitol. Nelson claimed police were guiding some people in, while Markofski disputed that. The FBI’s statement of facts says Nelson and Markofski were in the Capitol for around 40 minutes.

Nelson and Markofsky both pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Neither Nelson or Markofski received any jail time or probation during sentencing.

Conlin Weyer 

Video from the Jan. 6 riot showed Conlin Weyer of Plover was inside the Capitol wearing a red Trump 2020 hat, according to screenshots included in the FBI’s statement of facts.

Weyer ultimately pleaded guilty to entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds and was sentenced to 18 months probation, 30 days of GPS location monitoring and ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution and fines.