MAGA Granny refuses pardon for Capitol assault

The 71-year-old known online as the MAGA Granny has refused Donald Trump’s pardon for her part in the Stop the Steal riots in the Capitol four years ago.

Pamela Hemphill from Boise, Idaho, told the BBC “Accepting a pardon would only insult the Capitol police officers, rule of law and, of course, our nation.”

“I pleaded guilty because I was guilty, and accepting a pardon also would serve to contribute to their gaslighting and false narrative,” she added, referring to Trump and his supporters’ alternative version of events.

Hemphill was one of thousands of rioters descending on the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, urging others to follow her lead.

“You just gotta come in. … It’s your house. Come on in,” she cried as she entered the building, according to a court document. Hemphill was sentenced to 60 days behind bars.

A drug and alcohol counselor, Hemphill’s change of heart has been largely due to her therapist reframing her actions that day: “You were not a victim, you were a volunteer,” she was told.

Once she realized the therapist could be right, she began to criticize the man she had previously viewed as America’s white knight.

Admitting she didn’t watch the news, Hemphill had simply believed what her family told her – that Trump had come to save the US from communism.

“Trump was the father figure coming in to protect your children,” she said in The Washington Post. “… He set himself up to become a savior.”

Hemphill also told The Post: “I can never make it right, but hopefully I can share enough of my story where people maybe will start thinking about it and get away from the MAGA cult. You never know, you just plant the seeds.”

So far there has been no reaction from the President who spent his first hours in the White House signing a slew of pardons or commuting the sentences of 1,600 Capitol rioters.

Not all Republicans are behind the move. Republican Senator James Lankford from Oklahoma, told CNN: "I think we need to continue to say we are a party of law and order."

“I think if you attack a police officer, that's a very serious issue and they should pay a price for that,” he added.

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