On his first day back in office, President Donald Trump issued a sweeping pardon for participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, including people who assaulted police.Leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys extremist groups convicted of seditious conspiracy in the most serious cases brought by the Justice Department will also be freed from prison after having their sentences commuted.Trump is directing the attorney general to seek the dismissal of about 450 pending Jan. 6 cases.That includes several people from the Sacramento region who were either convicted, pled guilty or faced charges for their involvement in the riot.Jorge RileyJorge Riley from Sacramento was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2023. Federal inmate records show he was released from federal custody on July 12, 2024.According to the Department of Justice, Riley posted more than 150 messages, photographs and videos of his actions in Washington on Jan. 6 to his Facebook page, including some posts that showed him inside the Capitol building.He was arrested Jan. 19, 2021, about a week after he was forced to resign from his positions as corresponding secretary of the California Republican Assembly and president of the Sacramento Republican Assembly.Dane ThompsonIn November 2024, Dane Christoffer Thompson of Granite Bay was arrested for his role in the breach of the U.S. Capitol. Video footage allegedly captured him grabbing a bike rack at the front of a police line and wrestling it away from an officer. According to prosecutors, Thompson moved past a police barricade after the police line collapsed and grabbed a police officer’s arm. He then tripped, and another rioter shoved a police officer over him. He then stood up and lunged at police, according to the account.Thompson posted bond soon after his arrest and has not been in custody since.Tommy AllanTommy Frederick Allan, of Rocklin, was the first person in the Sacramento area charged for his involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach. According to court documents, Allan tried taking government documents he claimed were from Sen. Mitch McConnell’s desk and also trying to steal an American flag from the Capitol.Allan allegedly posted several videos from the Capitol to Facebook, which prompted multiple people to tip off the FBI before the videos were deleted from his profile.He ultimately pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting, dismissing his other charges.In December 2022, Allan was sentenced to 21 months in prison, followed by three years probation. Federal inmate records show he was released from prison on May 29, 2024.Sean McHughSean Michael McHugh of Auburn was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison in 2023 for his role in the Jan. 6 attack.McHugh was found guilty of several charges, including obstruction and assaulting, impeding, or interfering with law enforcement officers, following a stipulated bench trial before a judge in April 2023. McHugh pushed a metal sign into Capitol Police officers and sprayed them with a yellow chemical spray, according to the Justice Department. He was caught on officer body camera footage during the assault.He was not among those named by the president to have his sentence commuted. He is scheduled for release in December 2026.Valerie EhrkeValerie Elain Ehrke of Colusa County pleaded guilty for her involvement in the siege. In 2021, she pleaded guilty to one count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building, a misdemeanor.The Arbuckle woman was arrested after posting pictures of herself inside the Capitol building on Facebook. A public Facebook page with Ehrke’s name had a video posted Jan. 6 at 2:09 p.m. of people entering the building with a caption reading, “We made it inside, right before they shoved us all out. I took off when I felt pepper spray in my throat! Lol”Ehrke was sentenced to three years probation and had to pay restitution to the Architect of the Capitol for $500.Kyle ColtonKyle Travis Colton of Citrus Heights was arrested in December 2023. Court documents state that witnesses on a flight from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles overheard Colton saying he was “a part of the “second wave” of rioters” in the Capitol Building on Jan. 6.The FBI, in court documents, said that agents reviewed CCTV from inside the Capitol, and it shows Colton refusing to leave the Rotunda, as well as being present in a line of rioters who were combating with law enforcement.He pleaded guilty to disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds. He was set for sentencing on Jan. 22.However, Colton faces several federal charges separate from Jan. 6 that could keep him behind bars. He was also charged with receipt of child pornography. According to court documents, between July 2022 and December 2023, Colton received depictions of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.That case is set for trial in May 2025. Colton is not in law enforcement’s custody.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter
On his first day back in office, President Donald Trump issued a sweeping pardon for participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, including people who assaulted police.
Leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys extremist groups convicted of seditious conspiracy in the most serious cases brought by the Justice Department will also be freed from prison after having their sentences commuted.
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Trump is directing the attorney general to seek the dismissal of about 450 pending Jan. 6 cases.
That includes several people from the Sacramento region who were either convicted, pled guilty or faced charges for their involvement in the riot.
Jorge Riley
Jorge Riley from Sacramento was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2023. Federal inmate records show he was released from federal custody on July 12, 2024.
According to the Department of Justice, Riley posted more than 150 messages, photographs and videos of his actions in Washington on Jan. 6 to his Facebook page, including some posts that showed him inside the Capitol building.
He was arrested Jan. 19, 2021, about a week after he was forced to resign from his positions as corresponding secretary of the California Republican Assembly and president of the Sacramento Republican Assembly.
Dane Thompson
In November 2024, Dane Christoffer Thompson of Granite Bay was arrested for his role in the breach of the U.S. Capitol.
Video footage allegedly captured him grabbing a bike rack at the front of a police line and wrestling it away from an officer. According to prosecutors, Thompson moved past a police barricade after the police line collapsed and grabbed a police officer’s arm. He then tripped, and another rioter shoved a police officer over him. He then stood up and lunged at police, according to the account.
Thompson posted bond soon after his arrest and has not been in custody since.
Tommy Allan
Tommy Frederick Allan, of Rocklin, was the first person in the Sacramento area charged for his involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach.
According to court documents, Allan tried taking government documents he claimed were from Sen. Mitch McConnell’s desk and also trying to steal an American flag from the Capitol.
Allan allegedly posted several videos from the Capitol to Facebook, which prompted multiple people to tip off the FBI before the videos were deleted from his profile.
He ultimately pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting, dismissing his other charges.
In December 2022, Allan was sentenced to 21 months in prison, followed by three years probation. Federal inmate records show he was released from prison on May 29, 2024.
Sean McHugh
Sean Michael McHugh of Auburn was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison in 2023 for his role in the Jan. 6 attack.
McHugh was found guilty of several charges, including obstruction and assaulting, impeding, or interfering with law enforcement officers, following a stipulated bench trial before a judge in April 2023.
McHugh pushed a metal sign into Capitol Police officers and sprayed them with a yellow chemical spray, according to the Justice Department. He was caught on officer body camera footage during the assault.
He was not among those named by the president to have his sentence commuted.
He is scheduled for release in December 2026.
Valerie Ehrke
Valerie Elain Ehrke of Colusa County pleaded guilty for her involvement in the siege. In 2021, she pleaded guilty to one count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building, a misdemeanor.
The Arbuckle woman was arrested after posting pictures of herself inside the Capitol building on Facebook. A public Facebook page with Ehrke’s name had a video posted Jan. 6 at 2:09 p.m. of people entering the building with a caption reading, “We made it inside, right before they shoved us all out. I took off when I felt pepper spray in my throat! Lol”
Ehrke was sentenced to three years probation and had to pay restitution to the Architect of the Capitol for $500.
Kyle Colton
Kyle Travis Colton of Citrus Heights was arrested in December 2023. Court documents state that witnesses on a flight from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles overheard Colton saying he was “a part of the “second wave” of rioters” in the Capitol Building on Jan. 6.
The FBI, in court documents, said that agents reviewed CCTV from inside the Capitol, and it shows Colton refusing to leave the Rotunda, as well as being present in a line of rioters who were combating with law enforcement.
He pleaded guilty to disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds. He was set for sentencing on Jan. 22.
However, Colton faces several federal charges separate from Jan. 6 that could keep him behind bars. He was also charged with receipt of child pornography. According to court documents, between July 2022 and December 2023, Colton received depictions of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
That case is set for trial in May 2025.
Colton is not in law enforcement’s custody.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter
