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Judge rips on Trump's pardons as she dismisses Jan. 6 riot charges against Oklahoman

Nolan Clay
The Oklahoman
Published 11:06 a.m. CT Jan. 23, 2025

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A federal judge sharply criticized President Donald Trump's sweeping clemency decision as she dismissed the criminal case against an Oklahoman who spent almost 45 minutes inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot four years ago.

"Dismissals of charges, pardons after convictions, and commutations of sentences will not change the truth of what happened on January 6, 2021," U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote in her six-page order.

"What occurred that day is preserved for the future through thousands of contemporaneous videos, transcripts of trials, jury verdicts, and judicial opinions analyzing and recounting the evidence through a neutral lens," the judge wrote. "Those records [are immutable] and represent the truth, no matter how the events of January 6 are described by those charged or their allies."

Matthew Titus Allen, 44, pleaded guilty in October to two misdemeanor offenses for his conduct inside the Capitol. ... His sentencing had been set for Jan. 31 in federal court in Washington, D.C. Prosecutors were seeking 30 days of incarceration, three years of probation, 60 hours of community service and $500 in restitution before the president's order to pardon the Capitol rioters.

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