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Michael Sparks

Pardoned January 6 defendant

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Michael Sparks worked at an electronics plant in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. He drove to Washington on January 6 with coworkers from that plant. Factory guys from Hardin County, riding together. That detail matters, because it is the whole picture in one line. Michael Sparks was not a strategist or an organizer. He was a Kentucky plant worker who went to a rally with the guys he clocked in with. [FACT, DOJ sentencing filings and Newsweek] THE LEGAL FIGHT Michael Sparks was arrested January 19, 2021, just thirteen days after January 6, and indicted February 5, 2021, with a superseding indictment filed November 10, 2021. [FACT, DOJ] He did not plead. He went to trial. On March 1, 2024 a federal jury found Michael Sparks guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding and civil disorder, both felonies, plus misdemeanor counts of disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, entering a restricted building, and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building. [FACT, DOJ] U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly sentenced him to 53 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, and $2,000 in restitution. [FACT, DOJ and CBS News] The government identified him as the first person through the broken window at the Senate Wing Door. That is the government's characterization and it is in the record. This archive states the record and stops there. THE CLEMENCY On January 20, 2025, a presidential proclamation granted full pardons for offenses related to events at or near the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, covering these convictions. Michael Sparks was released from federal prison following that proclamation. [FACT] CASE RECORD Case number: 1:21-cr-87 Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Arrested: January 19, 2021. Indicted: February 5, 2021. Superseding indictment: November 10, 2021 Disposition: Jury verdict 3/1/2024; sentenced to 53 months, 36 months supervised release, $2,000 restitution; January 6 clemency 1/20/2025 DOJ: justice.gov/usao-dc/defendants/sparks-michael NEEDS AUTHENTICATION: Michael Sparks's years at the Elizabethtown plant, his trade, military service if any, and his family in Hardin County, Kentucky are not yet documented here. Add the receipts and we will publish them. This profile is unclaimed. If this is you — or your family — claiming it is free, forever.