Man pardoned by Trump for participation in Jan. 6 riot says life hasn’t changed a year later
By Ayron Lewallen
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HOKES BLUFF, Alabama (WVTM) — Tuesday marks five years since the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection. On that day, pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol and demanded the results of the 2020 election be overturned. They attacked officers and destroyed parts of the building. One officer died a day after the attack from their injuries. Another four took their own lives as a result of what happened.
Just last year, President Donald Trump pardoned people convicted for their involvement. Some of them are from right here in central Alabama. More than 1,000 people were charged by the Department of Justice in connection with the riot.
In the year since Russell Alford was pardoned by Trump, he said all he has is a piece of paper on a wall. Other than the $20,000 he spent on legal fees, Alford told WVTM 13 he was already semi-retired before going to prison and still owns his body shop business.
Alford spent 365 days in a Mississippi prison. He was convicted of entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct and demonstrating inside the Capitol during the insurrection. Alford said he walked about 12 feet inside the Capitol building, stood up against the wall, took 11 minutes’ worth of video, but never said a word.
Alford admits he was never a fan of Trump and had never been to one of his rallies or visited the Nation’s Capitol. He said he had the money to travel and decided he wanted to see what unfolded that day with his own eyes.
“I was tired of sitting on the couch and listening to the mainstream media bark at you and tell you what they wanted you to hear, and I wanted to see it for myself,” Alford said. “I saw so much double-fisting going on in the media. I could afford to go to Washington. I drove up there and seen it, and all that stuff, you might as well yelled action. That’s how ridiculous it was. That’s the only reason I, because I wanted to see it for myself.”
Alford told WVTM 13 he almost went back to D.C. on Tuesday for the march to the Capitol. Dozens of people who were pardoned by Trump wanted to celebrate five years since the insurrection, but Alford decided against it.
While he still believes the 2020 election was stolen—a claim that has been proven to be false by political experts—he said he sleeps happily at night knowing he didn’t lie to anyone and feels it’s all God’s will.
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