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Kaleb Dillard

Pardoned January 6 defendant · former U.S. Marine

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Kaleb Dillard is a former U.S. Marine and pardoned January 6 defendant from Alabama. His public record includes an August 2022 arrest, a July 2023 guilty plea to one felony count, a November 2023 sentence, a January 2025 full pardon, and later firsthand interviews about accountability, incarceration, faith, and family. ## Case overview Dillard was prosecuted in *United States v. Dillard*, No. `1:23-cr-00049-JMC`, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The case began under preliminary complaint No. `1:22-mj-00189`. DOJ reported that he was arrested in Columbiana, Alabama, on August 23, 2022. The complaint alleged two felony offenses and six misdemeanor offenses. Those complaint-stage accusations are preserved as allegations rather than treated as findings. ## Plea and sentence On July 18, 2023, Dillard pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb to one felony count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers under 18 U.S.C. § 111(a)(1). DOJ descriptions of his conduct are government and court-source characterizations and remain attributed as such. On November 16, 2023, Judge Cobb sentenced Dillard to ten months of imprisonment, twelve months of supervised release, and $36,238.55 in restitution. In a later WBRC interview, Dillard said he served roughly eight months, including approximately seven months at FCI Yazoo City and later time at a halfway house in Birmingham. Native Bureau of Prisons records remain a capture target. ## Full pardon The January 20, 2025 presidential proclamation granted full pardons to covered January 6 defendants who were not among the fourteen people specifically named for sentence commutations. Dillard was not one of the fourteen commutation recipients, and the DOJ Office of the Pardon Attorney's public certificate-recipient list expressly includes `DILLARD, KALEB`. ## Dillard's firsthand account In a May 26, 2026 WBRC interview, Dillard acknowledged that he committed a crime, said he would have been willing to apologize directly to the officer, and rejected describing himself as a hero, martyr, or political prisoner. He argued that many January 6 punishments were disproportionate and described his faith, marriage, and family as central to how he understood the experience. These are Dillard's attributed firsthand statements, not independent archive findings. The WBRC interview discussed a proposed federal Anti-Weaponization Fund. Later DOJ court representations stated that the proposed fund had not been established and was not going forward, so the interview is not presented as evidence of an active compensation program or application process. A December 18, 2024 episode of *1819 News: The Podcast* also identifies Dillard as the interview subject and describes discussion of his arrest, prosecution, incarceration, Christian faith, and relationship with his future wife. The publisher listing is verified; the native audio and complete transcript still require preservation and context review. ## Quick facts - **Full case:** `1:23-cr-00049-JMC` - **Preliminary complaint:** `1:22-mj-00189` - **Judge:** Jia M. Cobb - **Arrest:** August 23, 2022 - **Guilty plea:** July 18, 2023 - **Sentence:** Ten months' imprisonment, twelve months' supervised release, and $36,238.55 restitution - **Pardon:** Full pardon under the January 20, 2025 proclamation; Office of the Pardon Attorney recipient listing verified - **Firsthand sources:** 1819 News podcast, December 18, 2024; WBRC interview, May 26, 2026 ## Editorial boundary The archive's editorial position may describe January 6 defendants as victims of alleged or documented Biden-era DOJ weaponization. That analysis is kept separate from the plea, sentence, pardon, government allegations, and Dillard's own attributed account. A legal outcome or media label is not treated as proof of moral character. ## Remaining research gaps The archive still needs the native complaint, statement of facts, indictment, plea agreement, statement of offense, plea transcript, sentencing memoranda, judgment, sentencing transcript, custody and halfway-house records, individual pardon certificate, complete interview media and transcripts, and a provenance-cleared portrait.