{"id":3414,"date":"2025-02-21T10:02:33","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T10:02:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414"},"modified":"2025-02-21T10:02:33","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T10:02:33","slug":"pardoned-for-jan-6-she-came-home-to-a-new-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414","title":{"rendered":"Pardoned for Jan. 6, She Came Home to a New Reality"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On her 15th day of freedom as a pardoned participant in the Jan. 6 riot, Rachel Powell drove through western Pennsylvania\u2019s gray winter to the county courthouse in Franklin. She needed to check off applying for a gun permit from her homecoming to-do list.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">With her two youngest children trailing behind, Ms. Powell walked into the Venango County Sheriff\u2019s Office, where a sign advised visitors to \u201cKeep Calm and Carry.\u201d She swept her long dark hair from her face and began filling out the concealed-carry application, only to stop short at the existential dilemma posed by Question G:<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">Are you now charged with or have you ever been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year?<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">If she answered yes, her application could not be processed. If she answered no, she feared being charged again with breaking the law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cCan I make a note that I answered this way because I have a presidential pardon?\u201d asked Ms. Powell, who once owned an AK-47 rifle and a Glock pistol.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The two clerks behind the desk could provide little guidance, never having dealt with a presidential pardon. Neither could a deputy sheriff, who advised her to consult a lawyer because he did not want her to get into more trouble.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cDrumroll, please,\u201d Ms. Powell finally said. \u201cI\u2019m marking no.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">She paid the $20 fee, was told the office would be in touch and walked out of the courthouse, into her changed reality. Five years ago, she was home-schooling her children and selling organic goods at farmers\u2019 markets. Now, on her left biceps, she sported a memento from prison that reflected her life\u2019s newfound purpose:<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A crude tattoo that said \u201cJ6.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Powell, 44, was among the nearly 1,600 people to benefit last month from an act of self-interested mercy that augured what justice might look like in the second administration of Donald J. Trump. Within hours of returning to office, the president granted reprieves to everyone implicated in the mayhem of Jan. 6, 2021, when thousands of his supporters, motivated by his lies about a rigged election, stormed the Capitol and disrupted the electoral certification of his opponent, Joseph R. Biden Jr.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Trump\u2019s sweeping gesture reflected a continuing effort to alter, if not erase, the record of a day when people died, officers were beaten, the Capitol was vandalized and elected officials ran for their lives. The president has reframed the riot as an expression of patriotic love, and the federal officials who conducted the investigations into Jan. 6 as corrupt villains.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Shortly before he was to honor emergency workers at a Super Bowl ceremony in New Orleans this month, the president was pointedly <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/politics\/trump-confronted-on-air-force-one-for-pardoning-people-who-assaulted-first-responders-why-did-you-do-that\/ar-AA1yKEyH\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">asked<\/a> why he had pardoned people who had assaulted police officers at the Capitol. His response defied the overwhelming evidence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI pardoned J6 people who were assaulted by our government,\u201d Mr. Trump said. He added: \u201cThey didn\u2019t assault. They were assaulted, and what I did was a great thing for humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Most Americans disagree. According to a recent <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/politics\/2025\/02\/07\/trumps-second-term-early-ratings-and-expectations\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">survey<\/a> by the Pew Research Center, nearly three-quarters of those polled disapproved of Mr. Trump\u2019s pardons for people convicted of violent crimes, and more than half disliked his pardons for even those convicted of nonviolent offenses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The wholesale amnesty meant that about 250 imprisoned rioters were released from custody to a country whose president was now their savior. Some have disavowed the stolen-election lies, some have sought anonymity \u2014 and some are basking in their Jan. 6 street cred like heroes back from war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Among those embracing their moment is the slight Ms. Powell, who personifies both the sorry-not-sorry posture of many Jan. 6 participants and the steep price paid for their fealty to Mr. Trump. Involved in the riot to an \u201castounding\u201d degree, according to a federal prosecutor, she earned two nicknames, the Pink Hat Lady and the Bullhorn Lady, but may be best known as the woman who broke a Capitol window with an ice ax.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Powell recalled that day and its aftermath while relaxing in a rustic loft that her altered circumstances would soon force her to leave. A Trump hat signed by the man himself (\u201cRachel, we love you\u201d) sat on a bookshelf, not far from a computer\u2019s screen-saving photo of Mr. Trump with three of her sons.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Nearby, her son Nikolaus, 14, read a book about how to make potato guns, while her daughter Tessa, 8, hovered by her side. They half-listened as their mother recalled the tribulations of prison and the elation of a presidential pardon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On inauguration night Ms. Powell was at the Washington jail, having been transported from a West Virginia prison for a resentencing hearing, when news of the pardons broke. Very quickly she was on the phone with Cynthia Hughes, a Jan. 6 advocate who was attending an inaugural ball three miles away, and the two women, one in formal dress and the other in inmate orange, made plans to meet at the event.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI was like, I\u2019m going to get out of here in my prison clothes and I\u2019m going to go straight to the ball!\u201d Ms. Powell recalled.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Once released \u2014 though not in time to have her Cinderella moment \u2014 she walked over to the so-called Freedom Corner, where Jan. 6 supporters had kept vigil outside the jail for years and where she was received like family. But being part of this family had come at great cost.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Powell grew up in dysfunctional circumstances, gave birth to her first child at 16, married at 20 and home-schooled her eight children. She divorced, moved into a farmhouse, worked at a bookstore and fell into a small business selling organic goods to neighbors and at open-air markets. She rarely followed national politics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Then, in 2020, Covid restrictions disrupted her income flow and offended her sense of individual rights. Her anger and desperation led to activism laced with conspiracy theories and to incendiary social media posts that unsettled friends like Linda Strawbridge, who had bonded with Ms. Powell over gardening, hiking and kayaking.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI disconnected from Rachel,\u201d Ms. Strawbridge recalled. \u201cI had some sympathy, but there was also a worldwide pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Biden\u2019s victory intensified Ms. Powell\u2019s radicalization. Distrusting how mail-in ballots had affected election results in Pennsylvania, she bought into Mr. Trump\u2019s stolen-election lies and heeded his call to come to Washington on Jan. 6 for a \u201cwild\u201d protest of the election certification.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But Ms. Powell did more than protest. She was an \u201caggressor,\u201d according to federal prosecutors, often at the front of the violence, encouraging others through her bullhorn to break into the building. Most famously, she used an ice ax and a makeshift battering ram to break a Capitol window as overwhelmed officers tried to hold back the mob.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Powell\u2019s image soon appeared on wanted posters. She surrendered to criminal charges and was placed in home detention, allowed to leave only for work, religious services and medical appointments. She quit her job at the bookstore \u2014 she and the owners were being harassed, she said \u2014 sold her farmhouse to cover legal fees and moved with her four youngest children to the wooded outskirts of Grove City, into a cabin owned by her then-boyfriend, who hired her to help manage his consulting businesses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It was a bumpy home confinement. She was eventually required to wear an ankle monitor and restricted for several months to the cabin, forbidden even to walk around the garden.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Found guilty of nine felony and misdemeanor charges, Ms. Powell traveled back to federal court in Washington to be sentenced. Struggling with her composure, she apologized, saying she was \u201cdeeply ashamed\u201d of her behavior. \u201cI broke a window,\u201d she said. \u201cI pushed on police barricades. I encouraged others to enter the building. My conduct was disgraceful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But Ms. Powell\u2019s words conflicted with her social media assertions that she was a victim, the police were the aggressors and her window-breaking amounted to a misdemeanor that did not warrant prison time \u2014 a contention she had made just the day before on Stephen K. Bannon\u2019s \u201cWar Room\u201d program.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-8\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Judge Royce C. Lamberth was sympathetic \u2014 to a point. \u201cYou have skated along for a long time now,\u201d he said, before sentencing her to 57 months in prison.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On a sleety day in January 2024, Ms. Powell hugged Nikolaus and Tessa at the Hazelton federal penitentiary in Bruceton Mills, W.Va., before impatient guards led her away. \u201cIt\u2019s like ripping your heart out,\u201d she recalled, her voice breaking. \u201cAnd there\u2019s nothing you can do about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-9\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Powell adapted to the rhythms and indignities of incarceration. She had several bunk mates, the most considerate of whom, she said, was a woman known as the Jack-in-the-Box Killer. But she was closest to two other Jan. 6 rioters: Shelly Stallings, serving two years for crimes that included assaulting police officers with pepper spray, and Riley June Williams, serving three years for helping lead a mob to the office of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">With a makeshift ink gun cobbled together from a pen, a 9-volt battery and the motor of a CD player, they memorialized their bond with \u201cJ6\u201d tattoos on Ms. Powell\u2019s biceps, Ms. Stallings\u2019s forearm and Ms. Williams\u2019s rib cage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-10\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cMy J6 sisters,\u201d Ms. Powell said.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-57f8cda5\">A Muted Return<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">After her pardon, Ms. Powell returned to her corner of western Pennsylvania: solid MAGA country. This is where Mr. Trump was grazed by a would-be assassin\u2019s bullet during a rally last summer, and where he carried about two-thirds of the vote in the November election.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A change in her relationship with her boyfriend meant another relocation. With financial assistance from the Patriot Freedom Project, a J6-support organization co-founded by Ms. Hughes, she put many belongings into storage and prepared to move to a small house in disrepair on property owned by her ex-husband, Rick Powell, who reasoned that she and their children had suffered enough.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For the first two weeks, Ms. Powell mostly stayed in the cabin loft, trying to repair the damage and return to some normality. At a delayed Christmas gathering, the gifts she received included books, healthy snacks and a black leather concealed-carry purse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">She needed to earn an income but gave herself three months to come up with a plan. In the meantime, she had her daily to-do lists.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">One day: lunch with a friend at the TimberCreek restaurant in Mercer, applying for the gun permit in Franklin and an on-camera interview with a right-wing media outlet in which she again minimized her role on Jan. 6. (\u201cI did break a window that day in the Capitol. But that\u2019s a misdemeanor charge.\u201d)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-11\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The next day: at-home music lessons for Nikolaus and Tessa, a haircut at a salon in Grove City and then gutting the small house she\u2019d soon be moving into.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Dozens of communities like hers have grappled with how to receive Jan. 6 prisoners returning home. Are they rioters who tried to thwart the country\u2019s sacred transfer of power? Or patriots, as Mr. Trump and many Republicans contend, spurred to action by a righteous cause?<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On a recent Sunday, a church congregation in Temecula, Calif., made its answer clear with a standing ovation for the just-released Derek Kinnison, who had marched with other members of the Three Percenters militia, overturning police barricades and helping rioters scale the walls of the Capitol.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Powell has received a more muted welcome, as if there were communal agreement to look past why she had all but disappeared for four years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When the music teacher, Marlyn Jensen, the image of small-town propriety in her glasses and Norwegian sweater, arrived at the cabin loft, she seemed thrilled to see her old client, fresh from prison. Soon the two women were catching up, while a cellphone beeped with messages from Jan. 6 participants and Tessa, at an electric keyboard, pecked out \u201cThis Land Is Your Land.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-12\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s been a long time since I saw you making music with my kids,\u201d Ms. Powell said. \u201cIt\u2019s nice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At lesson\u2019s end, Ms. Jensen presented Ms. Powell with Christmas gifts that included maple candy, gourmet salt and a card featuring an image of a palm tree. \u201cThe righteous will flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon,\u201d the teacher said, echoing the 92nd Psalm.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI\u2019m just so glad you\u2019re home,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Running late and with her two youngest children in tow, Ms. Powell drove her small Ford SUV the 20 minutes to the Static salon in downtown Grove City, while mentally adding another item to her list. The Sheriff\u2019s Office had just called, her application for a carry permit had been denied and now she had to file an appeal to find out why.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Though the rejection bothered her \u2014 didn\u2019t a pardon mean the immediate restoration of her rights? \u2014 it came as no surprise. \u201cThe last four years have been hell,\u201d she said, with everything that could go wrong doing just that.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At least there was the restorative joy of a haircut. As Ms. Powell leaned back into a black chair for a wash, she confided to the young stylist that the last time she cut her hair, \u201cit was with mustache scissors over a toilet.\u201d She went on to recall a few other prison-beauty tips, including how to thread eyebrows with a tampon string.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-13\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI feel like you should make a TikTok page of all the things you learned,\u201d said the stylist, Samantha Hajave.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-14\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The scissors flashed and the women chatted \u2014 home schooling, book recommendations, the strains of motherhood \u2014 before Ms. Powell suddenly asked: \u201cSo are you a Trump fan?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Hajave took a beat before saying, \u201cMy husband is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWell, I want to share my new favorite word with you,\u201d the customer said. \u201cThis haircut is MAGA-nificent.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-21ff8444\">\u2018We\u2019ve Been Through Hell Together\u2019<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Within hours, Ms. Powell\u2019s fresh-cut hair was under a hat as she, her ex-husband and several of their children worked like a seasoned construction crew to gut the modest home that she hoped to occupy by the end of the month. A one-story storefront just outside Franklin that had once been a pet-grooming shop, it was a step down from the farmhouse she used to own.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-15\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Her old friend, Ms. Strawbridge \u2014 who had written a letter of support for Ms. Powell before her sentencing \u2014 said she felt sad whenever she drove past that farmhouse and recalled the sprawling backyard, the lush garden and the home schooling that had taken place there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cTo give all that up for Donald Trump,\u201d Ms. Strawbridge said. \u201cWhat a terrible, sad civics lesson. She got so much right, but she got that wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-16\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">If her change in circumstances bothered Ms. Powell, she did not show it. She seemed excited, in fact, because one of her \u201cJ6 sisters,\u201d Ms. Williams, was coming for a visit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The slender, bespectacled Ms. Williams, 26, has a presence so unassuming that the federal judge who sentenced her had felt the need to remind everyone that this \u201cpetite protester\u201d had acted \u201clike a coxswain on a crew team\u201d in directing a mob into the fray.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-17\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In prison, Ms. Powell and Ms. Williams gravitated toward each other. Both were back-to-basics women from Pennsylvania who enjoyed working out. They cheered and reassured each other while walking the jailhouse track.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cRachel made me feel normal again,\u201d Ms. Williams said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Their relationship reflects the Jan. 6-centric world that Ms. Powell now inhabits. She promotes J6 ideology on social media. Her cellphone often pings with an alert from some J6 group chat, or rings with a call from a J6 comrade seeking support or needing to vent. Her social calendar includes serving as a bridesmaid \u2014 along with her other J6 sister, Ms. Stallings \u2014 at Ms. Williams\u2019s upcoming wedding.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cNo one else is ever going to understand our experience,\u201d Ms. Powell said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been through hell together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The night after the haircut, she and Ms. Williams relaxed in the cozy cabin in Grove City, sharing stories and sipping gin cocktails. The complicated Jan. 6 swirl of emotions \u2014 of trauma and grievance, of stubborn pride and pardon-provided validation \u2014 informed the mood and conversation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">No matter the incriminating videos, and no matter the apologies made in court, they saw themselves as victims, not aggressors, whose actions had been misrepresented in the media.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-18\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe went there innocently to a protest,\u201d Ms. Powell said. \u201cAnd we were sucked in by violence that was directed at us \u2014 when we didn\u2019t go there intending to be violent. And then we were thrown in prison.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe\u2019re the people who love our country,\u201d she added. \u201cWe know that America is the best country in the world, and we need to save our country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A storm the day before had encased western Pennsylvania in snow and ice. But the two women inside this cabin enjoyed the warmth to be found from a wood stove, sips of gin and presidential pardons that reassured them they were in the right, after all. They were in the right.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Meridith Kohut<!-- --> contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On her 15th day of freedom as a pardoned participant in the Jan. 6 riot, Rachel Powell drove through western Pennsylvania\u2019s gray winter to the county courthouse in Franklin. She&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":477,"featured_media":3415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4505,4507,4522,4524,4508,4509,4515,4,4525,4520,4526,4516,4512,4511,4510,4517,4513,4519,4521,4523,4504,4514,387,4506,4518],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Pardoned for Jan. 6, She Came Home to a New Reality - Frisco Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pardoned for Jan. 6, She Came Home to a New Reality - Frisco Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On her 15th day of freedom as a pardoned participant in the Jan. 6 riot, Rachel Powell drove through western Pennsylvania\u2019s gray winter to the county courthouse in Franklin. She&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Frisco Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-21T10:02:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20240625172131.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"466\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"451\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Barry, Alan Feuer and Meridith Kohut\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@FriscoTimes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@FriscoTimes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Barry, Alan Feuer and Meridith Kohut\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"14 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dan Barry, Alan Feuer and Meridith Kohut\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/4576475db5bf83b02c150be33e833475\"},\"headline\":\"Pardoned for Jan. 6, She Came Home to a New Reality\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-21T10:02:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414\"},\"wordCount\":2855,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/00jan6-powell-tattoo-bkjf-facebookJumbo-v2.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"2021)\",\"Amnesties\",\"Bannon\",\"Biden\",\"Commutations and Pardons\",\"Demonstrations\",\"Donald J\",\"Frisco\",\"Joseph R Jr\",\"Lamberth\",\"Pennsylvania\",\"Powell\",\"Presidential Election of 2020\",\"Presidential Election of 2024\",\"Protests and Riots\",\"Rachel (1980- )\",\"Republican Party\",\"Riley June\",\"Royce C\",\"Stephen K\",\"Storming of the US Capitol (Jan\",\"Trump\",\"United States\",\"United States Politics and Government\",\"Williams\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414\",\"name\":\"Pardoned for Jan. 6, She Came Home to a New Reality - Frisco Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/00jan6-powell-tattoo-bkjf-facebookJumbo-v2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-21T10:02:33+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/00jan6-powell-tattoo-bkjf-facebookJumbo-v2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/00jan6-powell-tattoo-bkjf-facebookJumbo-v2.jpg\",\"width\":1050,\"height\":549},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pardoned for Jan. 6, She Came Home to a New Reality\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/\",\"name\":\"Frisco Times\",\"description\":\"Your Gateway to San Francisco&#039;s Stories\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Frisco Times\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/cropped-\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20240625172131.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/cropped-\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20240625172131.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Frisco Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/FriscoTimes\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/friscotimes\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/4576475db5bf83b02c150be33e833475\",\"name\":\"Dan Barry, Alan Feuer and Meridith Kohut\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Barry, Alan Feuer and Meridith Kohut\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?author=477\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pardoned for Jan. 6, She Came Home to a New Reality - Frisco Times","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pardoned for Jan. 6, She Came Home to a New Reality - Frisco Times","og_description":"On her 15th day of freedom as a pardoned participant in the Jan. 6 riot, Rachel Powell drove through western Pennsylvania\u2019s gray winter to the county courthouse in Franklin. She&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414","og_site_name":"Frisco Times","article_published_time":"2025-02-21T10:02:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":466,"height":451,"url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20240625172131.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Dan Barry, Alan Feuer and Meridith Kohut","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@FriscoTimes","twitter_site":"@FriscoTimes","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Barry, Alan Feuer and Meridith Kohut","Est. reading time":"14 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414"},"author":{"name":"Dan Barry, Alan Feuer and Meridith Kohut","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/4576475db5bf83b02c150be33e833475"},"headline":"Pardoned for Jan. 6, She Came Home to a New Reality","datePublished":"2025-02-21T10:02:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414"},"wordCount":2855,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/00jan6-powell-tattoo-bkjf-facebookJumbo-v2.jpg","articleSection":["2021)","Amnesties","Bannon","Biden","Commutations and Pardons","Demonstrations","Donald J","Frisco","Joseph R Jr","Lamberth","Pennsylvania","Powell","Presidential Election of 2020","Presidential Election of 2024","Protests and Riots","Rachel (1980- )","Republican Party","Riley June","Royce C","Stephen K","Storming of the US Capitol (Jan","Trump","United States","United States Politics and Government","Williams"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414","url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414","name":"Pardoned for Jan. 6, She Came Home to a New Reality - Frisco Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/00jan6-powell-tattoo-bkjf-facebookJumbo-v2.jpg","datePublished":"2025-02-21T10:02:33+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/00jan6-powell-tattoo-bkjf-facebookJumbo-v2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/00jan6-powell-tattoo-bkjf-facebookJumbo-v2.jpg","width":1050,"height":549},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3414#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pardoned for Jan. 6, She Came Home to a New Reality"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/","name":"Frisco Times","description":"Your Gateway to San Francisco&#039;s Stories","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization","name":"Frisco Times","url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/cropped-\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20240625172131.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/cropped-\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20240625172131.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Frisco Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/FriscoTimes","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/friscotimes\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/4576475db5bf83b02c150be33e833475","name":"Dan Barry, Alan Feuer and Meridith Kohut","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&r=g","caption":"Dan Barry, Alan Feuer and Meridith Kohut"},"url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?author=477"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3414"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/477"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}