‘I Rejected the Pardon’: Jan. 6 Defendant Returns to Capitol to Testify Against Trump’s Claims

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pam Hemphill, a Jan. 6 defendant who says she pleaded guilty for her actions at the U.S. Capitol and later rejected a pardon from President Donald Trump, returned to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2026, to testify at a House Democratic hearing marking five years since the attack. Hemphill told lawmakers she traveled from Idaho to Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, to attend Trump’s speech and then walked to the Capitol, believing Trump would go there as well.

“My name is Pam Hemphill. I'm a mother and a grandmother and a cancer survivor and a retired addiction counselor. I am also a convicted criminal for what I did on January the 6th. 2021,” Hemphill said in her opening remarks. She said she came to see the president after accepting claims she now characterizes as false. “I had fallen for the president's lies, just like many of his supporters,” she said.

Hemphill said fear played a central role in her decision to join the crowd moving from the speech site to the Capitol.

She described hearing others around her say things such as, “the Democrats are trying to turn this into a communist country” and “the radical left wants to do away with our Constitution.”

“The gaslighting caused a lot of fear, and I was scared. With that fear in my heart, I came here on January the 6th,” she said. Hemphill said she went to the Capitol because she believed Trump would join the march. “I heard people saying that Trump was going to walk down to the Capitol, so I went,” she said.

Hemphill told the hearing that Trump did not appear at the Capitol. She described what she saw next as the attack unfolding and credited law enforcement with protecting those inside. “The police officers were the heroes. They protected the capital and everyone inside the Capitol, and even people like me,” she said. Hemphill said she was trampled in the crowd and believed she could have died without help from Capitol Police. “I was trampled on by the rioters, and if it weren't for the Capitol Police helping me that day, I might have died,” she said.

Addressing officers in the room, Hemphill apologized for being part of the mob. “I am truly sorry from the bottom of my heart for being part of the mob that put you and so many officers in danger,” she said. Hemphill said she later pleaded guilty and rejected the idea that her case reflected political persecution. “I pleaded guilty to my crimes. Because I did the crime, I received due process, and the DOJ was not weaponized against me,” she said.

She also said she declined a pardon granted during Trump’s second term. “When Donald Trump pardoned us, I rejected the pardon. Accepting that pardon would be lying about what happened on January the 6th. I am guilty, and I own that guilt,” she said. Additional details about her case were included in information circulated alongside the hearing.

It said Hemphill was among nearly 1,600 people pardoned on the first day of Trump’s second term, that she declined the pardon, and that she served 60 days in prison, received 36 months of probation and was ordered to pay $500 in restitution. Hemphill told lawmakers that speaking publicly about Jan. 6 has brought personal consequences. “Speaking about January the 6th has caused a great risk to my personal safety. I have been doxxed online, harassed, and physically assaulted,” she said. Hemphill said she was not backing down. “But I am here, and I don't care. I. I won't let it stop me,” she said.

She said she hoped her testimony would counter what she called ongoing falsehoods about the attack and encourage others who feel similarly to speak up. “I can't sit here while Mr. Trump and others are lying,” Hemphill said. “I also want others who feel like me to know that we must stop the Lies being pushed by the Republican leaders and Trump himself.”

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