Pamela Hemphill, a woman from Idaho, was one of the rioters in 2021 who stormed the capitol building in support of Donald Trump and to protest his loss in the 2020 election. In 2022, Pamela was sentenced to two months in jail for her role in the attack.
However, as Trump has been pardoning the rioters, Pamela is working actively to ensure that she does not get pardoned.
In a recent interview with CBS News, Pamela said, “The pardons just contribute to their narrative, which is all lies. Propaganda. We were guilty, period. We all know that they’re gaslighting us. They are using January 6 to just continue Trump’s narrative that the Justice Department was weaponized. They were not, When the FBI came to my home, oh my God, they were very professional. They treated me very good.”
As per court documents, Pamela had flown to Washington D.C in 2021 to support Trump’s decision of overturning the 2020 election results. As reported by Law & Crime, “Prosecutors said she pushed through police lines three different times as the crowd outside the Capitol grew increasingly violent. She also encouraged her fellow rioters to push their way inside the building, and she was later seen inside the Rotunda itself.”
Moreover, she also distracted the police from more violent attackers by exaggerating her own injuries. In January 2022, Pamela pleaded guilty to “demonstrating, picketing, or parading in a Capitol building — a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail, a fine up to $5,000 and up to five years of probation. Hemphill requested a sentence of probation only, while prosecutors suggested that she serve at least 60 days in jail, three years of probation and 60 hours of community service” as reported by Law & Crime.
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Formerly a supporter of Donald Trump, Pamela’s views changed following the capitol visit. She said that after she stormed to the capitol with other supporters of Trump, she realized that the claims that the now American President made regarding the 2020 election results were false. In the same CBS News interview, “How could you sleep at night taking a pardon when you know you were guilty?”
She further added, “You know that everybody there was guilty. I couldn’t live with myself. I have to be right with me. And with God.” When asked what Trump might think of her decision, Pamela said that it is very likely that the President will call her ungrateful and will also ask the government officials to give her the worst possible treatment.
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CBS News reported that Idaho Sen. James Risch, a Republican, is helping Pamela to formally refuse her pardon. While his office has informed the network that they cannot officially disclose any information because of Pamela’s privacy concerns, “records reportedly show that the Office of the Pardon Attorney wrote the senator about the pardon in April stating, in part, that ‘Hemphill’s non-acceptance is noted’ as Law & Crime reported.
It is further noted that Pamela will not receive any formal certificate of her pardon.
