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Trump pardons Chattanooga-area Jan. 6 defendants

U.S. Department of Justice / Joseph “Jose” Lino Padilla, of Cleveland, Tenn., is shown in federal court filings. Padilla was convicted of multiple charges in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. President Donald Trump, on Inauguration Day, commuted the sentences of 14 defendants from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and pardoned all others convicted in the federal investigation. U.S. Department of Justice / Joseph “Jose” Lino Padilla, of Cleveland, Tenn., is shown in federal court filings. Padilla was convicted of multiple charges in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. President Donald Trump, on Inauguration Day, commuted the sentences of 14 defendants from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and pardoned all others convicted in the federal investigation.

By Ben Benton January 21, 2025 8 min read

Three Chattanooga-area men were among more than 1,500 defendants convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol who were pardoned by President Donald Trump, who called their prosecution a “grave national injustice.”

Trump’s Inauguration Day pardons included Joseph Lino “Jose” Padilla and Chad Bannister Hedgcock, both of Cleveland, Tennessee, and William Frederick Beals, of Ringgold.

The pardon commuted the sentences of 14 defendants listed by name, including several convicted of seditious conspiracy, and granted a “full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted” in the government’s case against those who interrupted the certification of the 2020 presidential election of Joe Biden.

PADILLA