J6ers: Where Are They Now?
Catching up with notorious insurrection offenders a year after Trump’s pardon spree
Donald Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of all the Jan. 6 criminals on his first day back in office. He set loose a crew of seditionists, violent felons, moral reprobates, and menaces to society — or as he has called them, “great patriots” who participated in a “day of love.”
The pardons were an affront to law and order — as well as to public safety. Dozens have been arrested on new criminal offenses, including at least six who have been charged with child sex crimes.
As America marks the fifth anniversary of the insurrection, and the first since the offenders have been at large, we catch up with some of the most notorious J6 offenders, as well as the insurrectionist in chief.
Stewart Rhodes
Role on J6
Leader of Oath Keepers militia, composed largely of military vets and ex-law enforcement, who hoped to be called into Trump’s violent service if he invoked the Insurrection Act.
Convicted of
Seditious conspiracy, for plotting to violently block the peaceful transfer of power, including by assembling a heavily-armed “quick reaction force” across the river from Washington D.C. in Virginia.
Sentenced to
18 years in federal prison, a term that included a terrorism enhancement. At sentencing, a federal judge rebuked Rhodes for being “prepared to take up arms in order to foment a revolution.”
Last Seen
Rhodes received a commutation from Trump just a year-and-a-half into his sentencing. In an interview this past November, Rhodes announced he was rebooting the militia. He vowed to make the Oath Keepers “stronger than ever,” adding: “I’m not going to let the bad guys crush us.”
Enrique Tarrio
Role on J6
Honcho of the Proud Boys, a “Western chauvinist” fighting club that Trump infamously instructed to “stand back and stand by” from the debate stage in the buildup to the 2020 election.
Convicted of
Seditious Conspiracy, for assembling a militia-like Proud Boys unit called the “Ministry of Self-Defense” and then directing its actions from afar during the tumult of Jan. 6. Tarrio took credit for the day’s violence, including texting: “Make no mistake… we did this.”
Sentenced to
22 years, including a terrorism enhancement, the longest of any Jan. 6 criminal.
Last seen
Tarrio received a full pardon from Trump. In February he was arrested outside the Capitol on assault charges, though federal officials declined to prosecute. In May, he touted a brief meeting with Trump at Mar a Lago. Leading up to the 5th anniversary of Jan. 6. Tarrio announced a “PATRIOTIC and PEACEFUL” march at the Ellipse.
Joe Biggs
Role on J6
Led the Proud Boys at the Capitol; prosecutors characterized him as the “tip of the spear.”
Convicted of
Seditious conspiracy. Biggs helped breach the Capitol and later bragged of having “bitch-slapped” the government “on their own home turf.”
Sentenced to
17 years, including a terrorism enhancement.
Last seen
Biggs is part of a lawsuit against the federal government with Tarrio and three other pardoned Proud Boys seeking $100 million for alleged wrongful incarceration. “They took everything from me and my buddies,” Biggs explained of the effort.
Jacob Chansley
(Chansley in 2023 at AmericaFest. Photo by Gage Skidmore, creative commons)
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Role on J6
Breached the Senate floor dressed as the QAnon Shaman, replete with a spear, red-white-and-blue war paint, and a fur cap with bison horns.
Convicted of
Chansley pleaded guilty to a felony count of obstructing an official proceeding, after a stint in jail where he made news for refusing to eat anything but organic food.
Sentenced to
41 months in prison.
Last seen
In September Chansley filed an unhinged, $40 trillion lawsuit against Donald Trump in which he declared himself “the first legal President of the New Constitutional Republic of the United States” ordered the printing of a $40 trillion coin, of which he ordered $1 trillion given to himself “for my years worth of pain, and suffering.” (He ordered another $1 trillion to be dedicated to “creating a new civilization based on symbiosis between humanity and nature.”)
Jared Wise
Role on J6
A former FBI agent, Wise participated in the Jan. 6 attack, shouting at Capitol police that they were “Gestapo” and allegedly encouraging others to attack law enforcement with shouts like: “Yeah, fuck them!” and “Kill ‘em! Kill ‘em! Kill ‘em!”
Charged with
Wise was indicted on felony charges of “civil disorder” and “assaulting, resisting, or impeding” law enforcement, and misdemeanors including unlawful entry of the Capitol.
Sentenced to
Wise was pardoned before his case went to trial.
Last seen
Working in the Trump administration’s Justice Department. Wise was appointed as a counselor to Pardon Attorney Ed Martin, who infamously raised cash for Jan. 6 defendants and now directs Trump’s “Weaponization Working Group” (which seeks to counter supposed anti-conservative bias at DOJ).
Robert Keith Packer
(Packer in his booking photo)
Role on J6
One of the most infamous faces of Jan. 6, Packer was photographed wearing a hoodie with a logo reading: “Camp Auschwitz.”
Convicted of
Packer pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of unlawful picketing and parading.
Sentenced to
Last seen
Arrested in September on a felony charge relating to his off-leash dogs viciously attacking neighbors, in an incident that reportedly sent four people to the hospital.
Taylor Taranto
Role on J6
Taranto was allegedly part of the Jan. 6 mob that entered the Capitol, later posting a video bragging “we just stormed it.”
Convicted of
Taranto remained at large until 2023, when he was arrested for driving a van loaded with weapons near president Barack Obama’s D.C. home, shortly after Trump posted the 44th president’s address on Truth Social. In the days leading up to his arrest, Taranto had allegedly livestreamed threats directed at Congressman Jaime Raskin and threatening to blow up a federal building. Taranto was convicted in October 2025 of weapons charges and of making a hoax bomb threat. (DOJ dropped charges relating to his conduct at the Capitol and even scrubbed his sentencing memo of references to his Trump-pardoned Jan. 6 conduct.)
Sentenced to
Time served. Taranto had been jailed for 22 months in pretrial detention and was granted supervised release in Washington state.
Last seen
In December, Taranto was spotted wandering around Raskin’s neighborhood in Maryland and police urged that he be jailed. A judge ordered him back to the West coast.
Richard “Bigo” Barnett
(Barnett’s note to Pelosi, via a federal court document)
Role on J6
After entering the Capitol with a stun gun, Barnett infamously kicked his feet up on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk leaving a note: “Hey Nancy, Bigo was here.”
Convicted of
Multiple charges including felony civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding.
Sentenced to
54 months in prison by a judge who noted Barnett’s lack of remorse including selling autographed pictures of his exploits in Pelosi’s office.
Last seen
Seeking reimbursement for nearly $2,500 in restitution and other fees he had to pay as part of his sentence.
Christopher Moynahan
Role on J6
Breached the Capitol on Jan. 6 and made it as far as the Senate chambers, where he rifled through documents, shouting “There’s gotta be something in here we can f---- use against these ----bags,” according to the Department of Justice (which made the redactions.)
Convicted of
A felony count of obstructing an official proceeding.
Sentenced to
21 months in prison.
Last seen
Making a “terroristic threat” on the life of Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries. In October, Moynahan was arrested after allegedly threatening to harm Jeffries during a speech at the Economic Club of New York. “I cannot allow this terrorist to live,” Moynahan allegedly wrote: “I will kill him for the future.” (He has pleaded not guilty.)
Donald Trump
(Trump speaks at a press conference after the kidnapping of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. White House photo.)
Role on J6
Instigator in chief
Charged with
Trump was indicted in 2023 on charges of attempting to subvert his 2020 election loss, including a conspiracy to “corruptly obstruct and impede” the certification of the Electoral College vote. The case was never brought to trial, but former special prosecutor Jack Smith testified in December that his team had developed “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that Trump engaged in “a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power.”
Elected to
Another four years in the White House, where he’s immune from prosecution.
Last seen
Overthrowing the president of Venezuela in violation of the U.N. Charter and the rules-based international order.
Disheartening to say the least. Really shows that we now have a criminal enterprise running the White House and the country. It is up to us to vote blue, as the last wall between fascism and democracy. The stakes could not be higher.
These facts are simply beyond belief in a civilized world.