On his first day of his second term, President Donald Trump granted a pardon to everyone “convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.” 

That adds up to around 1,500 people. The presidential pardon won’t expunge their convictions, but it will restore rights curtailed by the conviction, like voting and gun ownership. At least one pardoned rioter is looking forward to the latter: Jacob Chansley, the “QAnon Shaman” who served a year and a half in prison for attacking the Capitol, wrote on X after thanking Trump for his pardon: “Now I am gonna buy some motha f*kin guns!!!” 

The Trace analyzed court documents to find out which defendants carried weapons into the Capitol on January 6, as Washington has strict gun laws. Eleven people eligible for pardons were charged with illegally carrying guns in or around the Capitol on that day, according to our analysis of court documents. Four others were hit with gun charges when law enforcement came to their homes to exercise January 6-related search warrants and found illegal weapons. At least one of those gun charges is still going forward despite the pardon.

Presidential pardons do not cover state charges, so theoretically some of the insurrectionists could face state gun charges, if prosecutors opt to bring cases. 

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, a Democrat, is exploring state charges against pardoned insurrectionists from Pennsylvania. However, any state issuing new prosecutions could face legal hurdles because of constitutional protections against double jeopardy.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons said that over 200 people had been released from federal prisons following the president’s order, including former Proud Boys extremist group leader Enrique Tarrio and Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes. The pardons have drawn criticism from the police who fought the insurrectionists, their families, and lawmakers.

Other former defendants include an off-duty Drug Enforcement Administration agent from California who flashed his service weapon inside the Capitol; an Illinois man who climbed a scaffold and fired a 38-caliber revolver into the air; and a recruiter for the Texas Three Percenters who carried a handgun into the Capitol — and threatened to shoot his son for reporting him to the FBI.

The U.S. Marshals Service told CNN that Capitol riot defendants eligible for pardons are slated for release “unless charged in other cases unrelated to January 6th.” It’s unclear who of the 15 defendants The Trace uncovered in its analysis were released from prison. However, because the pardon was for offenses committed near the Capitol, there are at least three defendants who could face gun charges related to their arrests elsewhere. 

A Florida man named Daniel Ball, who was awaiting trial on a slew of charges related to the Capitol riot, including detonating an explosive device that injured dozens of officers, was rearrested in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s pardon because of a gun charge that emanated from his arrest. When FBI agents executed a January 6-related search warrant on Ball’s home in May 2023, they found him in possession of a 22-caliber rifle, which is a violation of federal law because of his criminal history: In addition to a felony conviction from 2014, Ball was sentenced to five years probation in Florida a few months after the Capitol riot for assaulting five civilians and two law enforcement officers. He also has a felony domestic violence conviction. His attorney is challenging Ball’s detention on the new gun charge.

Karl Dresch pleaded guilty to a minor charge in August 2021 and was sentenced to time served. But upon his arrest in Calumet, Michigan, he was found with a Russian SKS assault-style rifle, two shotguns, a Glock, and more than 100 rounds of ammunition. It’s unclear if he will face charges for the guns in his home state. He’s described in court papers as a “convicted felon” for a 2013 police chase that he ultimately pleaded down to a misdemeanor, but the year he spent in jail might not be enough to make him a prohibited possessor. The Trace reached out to Dresch’s attorney for comment, but got no response.

Jonathan Andrew Humphreys was arrested in San Diego on November 3, 2021. When an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force executed a search warrant, they found four unregistered handguns and three unregistered rifles, one of which was a ghost gun. The San Diego Police Department got a search warrant and arrested Humphreys on state gun charges. He pleaded guilty in October and was supposed to be sentenced in February. It’s unclear if the state gun charges are going forward; the San Diego police did not return a request for comment.

At least one January 6 rioter was convicted of a local gun charge stemming from their arrest.  FBI agents apprehended Samuel Fisher in Manhattan two weeks after the riot for unlawful entry and disorderly conduct and found him with a shotgun, a semiautomatic rifle, a handgun, and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition. The FBI also contended that he “was in possession of multiple firearms and a bulletproof vest” at the Capitol on January 6. Manhattan authorities charged Fisher with illegal gun possession, and he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. He was paroled a couple of months before the election. The Manhattan conviction will not be voided by Trump’s pardon.

Barring other prohibiting factors, most of the 15 defendants identified by The Trace should be able to own guns again once they apply for and obtain a pardon certificate, several of their attorneys told us. 

Christopher Alberts, a former Virginia Guardsman, was arrested in the Capitol Visitor Center on January 6, 2021. He was carrying a black Taurus 9mm handgun and two 12-round magazines, both illegal to own without a permit in Washington, D.C. His attorney, Roger Roots, told The Trace that Alberts hasn’t gotten his gun back yet, but was “pretty sure” that he ultimately would. Roots added: “We might have to do a bit of work.”

The restoration of the January 6 rioters’ gun rights has instilled fear in some of their family members. Jackson Reffitt, whose father, Guy Reffitt, is the Texas Three Percenter who threatened him for notifying the FBI, fears for his life now that his father has been released. He’s moved since his father was sentenced to seven years in prison, and he carries a handgun every day for protection — not just from his father, but other like-minded members of the MAGA movement.

But what about the guns the defendants were arrested with? Could they get them back?

Anyone who’s had their property seized by police as evidence can file a claim to have it returned, according to a spokesperson at the district’s Metropolitan Police Department. But the spokesperson said it’s rare that someone comes back for their gun after the disposition of a case. That may owe to Washington’s strict gun laws: You need a permit to possess or carry a gun in the district, and only a few thousand residents have one. 

All of the January 6 defendants who were arrested with guns live in other states, and Washington, D.C., doesn’t honor any other state’s gun permit. “It will be very interesting how this plays out,” the police spokesperson said.

Correction: This story has been revised to correct the number of January 6 defendants who could face gun charges related to their arrests elsewhere. An earlier version of this story also incorrectly reported that Samuel Fisher had not been charged in Manhattan. In fact, Manhattan authorities charged Fisher with illegal gun possession.