Daniel Edwin Wilson, a Jan. 6 defendant, was recently granted a second presidential pardon by Donald Trump for a separate federal firearms offense.
Daniel Edwin Wilson, a Jan. 6 defendant, was recently granted a second presidential pardon by Donald Trump for a separate federal firearms offense. The pardon led to his release from prison, resolving a legal dispute over whether his initial Jan. 6 pardon covered the gun conviction.
Background
Initial Conviction: Daniel Edwin Wilson of Louisville, Kentucky, pleaded guilty to conspiring to impede or injure police officers and illegally possessing firearms as a convicted felon. The firearms and approximately 4,800 rounds of ammunition were discovered during an FBI search of his home related to the Jan. 6 investigation. He was sentenced to five years in prison in 2024.
First Pardon: On his first day back in the White House in January 2025, President Trump issued a broad pardon for individuals convicted of offenses related to the events of Jan. 6.
Legal Dispute: Initially, the Justice Department argued the first pardon did not extend to Wilson’s separate gun offense, and he was ordered to return to prison in February 2025. A Trump-appointed judge criticized the Justice Department’s subsequent, shifted position that the pardon did cover the gun charge, stating it would “defy rationality” to apply it to illegal contraband discovered in an unrelated search.
Second Pardon
To resolve the legal issue, President Trump issued a second, specific pardon for the firearm offenses on November 15, 2025. A White House official justified the action by stating the search of Wilson’s home was a direct result of the Jan. 6 investigation, and therefore, the subsequent firearms issues should also be covered by presidential clemency.
Wilson was released from prison shortly after the second pardon was issued.
Statement by Circuit Judge Rao
Wilson, a three-time convicted felon, was charged with multiple offenses related to his conduct at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. As Wilson prepared to plead guilty, two separate charges originating in the Western District of Kentucky in 2022 – possession of an unregistered firearm, 26 U.S.C. §§ 5841, 5861(d), & 5871, and felon-in-possession, 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) & 924(a)(2) (Kentucky firearm offenses) – were transferred to this district so they, too, could be resolved. On May 17, 2024, Wilson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to impede or injure federal law enforcement officers on January 6, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 372, and to illegally possessing six firearms (including two military-style rifles without serial numbers) and 4,800 rounds of ammunition in Kentucky on June 3, 2022.