LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – One of President Donald Trump’s first acts in office was pardoning those convicted for attacks on the US Capitol on January 6th. That includes a number of Nevadans.
FOX5′s Kim Passoth has been following the story of one Las Vegas man since he was indicted by the federal government, served time in federal prison, and now has his federal criminal history wiped clean.
Nate DeGrave, a social media content creator now working in the AI field told FOX5 Tuesday, when he went to D.C. four years ago for what was being billed as the biggest Donald Trump rally ever, he never imagined how it would change his life forever.
“Prior to January 6, I was always heavily involved in social media and being a content creator and putting myself out there. So you know, when we went there, that was sort of the primary focus,” DeGrave recounted. With his friend and fellow January 6th defendant Ronald Sandlin, DeGrave went to Washington and did film videos.
“And then, of course, things just got totally out of hand,” DeGrave recalled. Still, frames from security cameras inside the Capitol led to his arrest months later.
“Before that I’d never even had a parking ticket. It’s just almost like the twilight zone, where you just you just almost question, you know, is this real life? Am I really going through this? And the government has a very effective way of trumping up charges in order to get you to take a plea deal,” DeGrave shared. DeGrave did take a plea deal and spent six months in a federal prison in California.
“Me, like many others, I owe a lot of money in restitution…. I owe 25,000,” DeGrave reported. That will no longer be the case. The pardon will also wipe away that debt along with his criminal record. DeGrave will no longer be considered a felon making it easier to find a place to live, travel, and own a firearm.
DeGrave got word of the pardon first from Sandlin who returned to D.C. for President Trump’s inauguration and confirmation from his attorney. With Trump coming to Nevada to thank those who voted for him, turning the state red for the first time in decades, DeGrave plans to be there. “I would love to see him. I knocked on a lot of doors… to help get him elected here,” DeGrave stated.
Also Tuesday, Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto posted this response to the pardons on X: “For all the talk of keeping Americans safe, President Trump used his first day in office to pardon hundreds of violent criminals. They assaulted police officers on January 6th, and it’s outrageous that the President thinks it’s okay for them to be released.”
DeGrave is just one of several Nevadans charged after January 6th. We have more information about other cases here.
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