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Kurt Peterson

Pardoned January 6 defendant

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Kurt Peterson is from Hodgenville, Kentucky, the Larue County town where Abraham Lincoln was born. He was 67 years old when a federal judge sentenced him. THEIR ACCOUNT: Four days after January 6, 2021, Peterson wrote a long message to his family and friends. He said he traveled with three military veterans. He said he was not there to hurt anybody or damage anything. He said he went as a "show of solidarity to right the wrongs of the past election." THEIR ACCOUNT: In that same message, Kurt Peterson said he was present when Ashli Babbitt was shot, that "Nonlethal force could have been used without the lethal shot," and that he offered to provide first aid and was turned away. A 67 year old Kentucky man offering to render aid to a dying woman. That is his statement, in his own words, preserved in the court record. FACT: Prosecutors also alleged, and Peterson later admitted under oath, that he used his fist to break a window on the outside of the Capitol while shouting "This is our house. Let us in. Our house." THE CASE, PLAINLY FACT: Peterson pleaded guilty on September 21, 2022, to one felony count, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon. FACT: On November 2, 2023, U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols sentenced him to 45 days of incarceration, 60 days of supervised release served as home incarceration, $4,700 in restitution, and a $100 special assessment. Forty five days. On a felony. The judge who read the whole file, including the man, gave him forty five days. FACT: On January 20, 2025, President Trump granted clemency covering the January 6 prosecutions. Kurt Peterson received a full pardon. THE CASE RECORD Case 1:21-cr-427, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Arrested June 16, 2021. Indicted June 23, 2021. Arraigned June 24, 2021, pleaded not guilty to all counts. Superseding information filed September 21, 2022. Statement of offense, charging document, and both DOJ releases linked below. This profile is unclaimed. If this is you, or your family, claiming it is free, forever.