A man accused of assaulting law enforcement officers and throwing an explosive device into a Capitol tunnel on Jan. 6 has been arrested again just days after receiving a pardon from President Donald Trump.
In May 2023, Daniel Ball of Homosassa, Florida, was indicted on 12 counts for his role in the Capitol attack. The charges against him include assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon; using fire or explosives to commit any felony; and knowingly committing any act of physical violence while carrying or using a deadly or dangerous weapon.
Ball is accused of "throwing an explosive device into the West Terrace Tunnel under the Capitol that detonated at least 25 police officers," injuring law enforcement officers. On Tuesday, President Trump granted blanket pardons to more than 1,500 defendants charged with crimes related to the attempted insurrection, and Ball's case was dismissed. Less than a day later, the Justice Department re-arrested Ball on a separate pending charge related to unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Jan. 6 was not Ball's first run-in with law enforcement. Charging documents list three previous felonies, including domestic violence, battery by strangulation, resisting law enforcement with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer.
While Ball was arrested on an outstanding charge unrelated to January 6, the president's pardon for January 6 criminals frees hundreds of people who were charged or convicted of violent crimes during the attack Dilemma. They include members of the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys, and individuals who ruthlessly attacked law enforcement officers defending the Capitol from rioters.
Trump on Tuesday dodged a question about pardoning rioters who attacked police. After agreeing that attacks on police officers were absolutely unacceptable, the president responded "we will consider everything" when asked about his pardon for the man who shot a police officer with a stun gun in the neck. Axios reported the next morning that, according to a close adviser, Trump wasn't too concerned with scrutinizing exactly who he pardoned. "Trump just said: 'Fuck them all: Free them all,'" one adviser told the outlet. Trump's inner circle is reportedly uneasy about releasing violent criminals. A little more than a week before the inauguration, Vice President J.D. Vance told Fox News: "If you committed an act of violence that day, obviously you should not be pardoned."
The indiscriminate nature of the pardons also caught some members of Congress off guard as they worked to publicly support the release of those who committed violent attacks on the Capitol against themselves and their colleagues.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) told reporters on Wednesday that it's simply not his job to second-guess the president. "The president has made his decision and I'm not going to second guess it," he said, according to The Hill.. "That's my ethos, my worldview, we believe in redemption. We believe in second chances."
Meanwhile, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, wrote on A blanket pardon for these brave men and women in uniform."
The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), which supported Trump in this election, wrote in a joint statement that they were "deeply dismayed by the recent pardons and commutations granted by the Trump administration." . The Biden and Trump administrations have targeted individuals convicted of killing or assaulting law enforcement officers. "
"Crimes against law enforcement are not just attacks on individuals or public safety - they are attacks on society and undermine the rule of law. Allowing those convicted of these crimes to be released early would diminish accountability and demean the brave law enforcement officers and The sacrifices made by his family,” they wrote.
Republicans have made "Back the Blue" a staple of their public cultural posture, but when it comes to the men and women in uniform who risked their lives and safety to protect lawmakers on January 6, the party is more than willing to let the mob win .