Ryan Nichols

Public January 6 profile · ready to claim

Joseph Lino Padilla

Pardoned January 6 defendant

Joseph Lino Padilla profile photograph from NPR's January 6 archiveDocumented editorial-use image
NPR's The Capitol Charges; database photo credit: Department of Justice (all named credit exceptions excluded) Published for archive identification and reporting; reuse rights are not represented as cleared.Image source →

Joseph Padilla wore the uniform of the Tennessee Army National Guard for a decade before January 6, 2021 ever happened, and that service is part of the record too. FACT: Padilla served in the Tennessee Army National Guard from July 2002 until October 2012, reaching the rank of sergeant, confirmed by a National Guard spokesperson to the press. That is ten years of service to this country, in uniform, before any of this started. FACT: Padilla, of Cleveland, Tennessee, was arrested February 23, 2021 in connection with the Capitol riot. He was tried without a jury and found guilty on May 3, 2023 of multiple charges, with one count, Civil Disorder, dismissed. THEIR ACCOUNT: Padilla has described being struck repeatedly by police batons and pepper spray that day, saying at trial he "earned his licks." Whatever a person makes of that phrase, it is his own account, given under oath, and it belongs in the record next to the charges. FACT: Padilla was sentenced September 13, 2023 to 78 months incarceration with credit for time served, 24 months supervised release, and $2,000 restitution. FACT: On January 20, 2025, Joseph Padilla received a full and unconditional pardon, and the court dismissed his superseding indictment with prejudice. NEEDS AUTHENTICATION: A fundraiser page identifying itself as run by Padilla's family describes him as a disabled veteran. That claim comes from the family's own fundraising page, not from a court filing, and has not been independently confirmed by this archive. This is the record. A ten-year Guardsman, a hard case, a long sentence, and a full pardon. Read it. Share it. CASE RECORD: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Arrested February 23, 2021. Convicted May 3, 2023. Sentenced September 13, 2023. Full pardon January 20, 2025. This profile is unclaimed. If this is you, or your family, claiming it is free, forever.

The case file

On the record

Case number
1:21-cr-214
Court
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Disposition
Padilla was arrested on 2/23/21. Indicted 3/12/21. Arraigned and pleaded not guilty to all counts on 3/30/21. Superseding indictment filed 11/10/2021. Found Guilty 5/3/2023 in a bench trial on all charges except Civil Disorder, which was dismissed. Sentenced 9/13/2023 to 78 months incarceration with credit for time served, 24 months supervised release, $820 special assessment, $2,000 restitution. Received a full pardon 1/20/25; superseding indictment dismissed with prejudice.
Arrested
February 23, 2021

Charges

  • Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers
  • Civil Disorder
  • Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers Using a Dangerous Weapon
  • Obstruction of an Official Proceeding
  • Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon
  • Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon
  • Engaging in Physical Violence in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon
  • Disorderly Conduct in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings
  • Act of Physical Violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings
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Connection to United States v. Nichols

Joseph Lino Padilla appears in the record of United States v. Nichols. The full case — timeline, people, documents — is public and free.

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