Public January 6 profile · ready to claim

Russell Taylor

Pardoned January 6 defendant

Archive card · not a photograph

A federal judge told Russell Taylor, in open court, you can be the poster child now for how these cases should be done. That is Senior U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, one of the longest-serving judges on the federal bench in Washington, speaking about the man from Ladera Ranch, California. The same judge said a probation sentence like this one comes once in a lifetime in my courtroom, and told him there is hope at the end of the tunnel. Russell Taylor of Ladera Ranch, in south Orange County, earned that sentence the hard way. FACT. Taylor was charged in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, case 1:21-cr-392. He was indicted June 9, 2021 and arrested June 10, 2021. He was arraigned June 28, 2021 and pleaded not guilty to all counts. He remained free on personal recognizance throughout. FACT. He later pleaded guilty to one count, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. Every other count was dismissed, including both weapon counts. FACT. Taylor cooperated with the government and testified at the trial of a co-defendant. The court found that he testified truthfully and expressed sincere remorse, and the judge called his cooperation essential. Prosecutors told the court that cooperating would sever his relationship with former associates and expose him to harassment. He did it anyway. FACT. On May 3, 2024 he was sentenced to 36 months of probation, six months of home detention, a $100 special assessment, $2,000 in restitution and 100 hours of community service. Prosecutors had asked for four years and four months in prison. He got no prison at all. THEIR ACCOUNT. In court Taylor said, in his own words, I was wrong to follow and listen to many people like Alan, who had their own agendas. He said of his time in custody, I thought about why I was there and the mistake I made on January 6th. He named the person he followed and he did not name anybody else to shift blame onto. FACT. On January 20, 2025, President Trump granted clemency covering the January 6 prosecutions. Russell Taylor received a full pardon. NEEDS AUTHENTICATION. Sources conflict on his age, listed as 40 in the federal case record and reported as 42 in California television coverage. We print the conflict rather than pick one. DATA CORRECTION. This archive previously showed this case frozen at a 2021 status conference, three years out of date. The disposition on this page is now current through the pardon. What the record shows: an Orange County man who told the truth under oath at real personal cost, and a federal judge who said so on the record. THE CASE RECORD Case 1:21-cr-392, United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Indicted June 9, 2021. Arrested June 10, 2021. Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. Sentenced May 3, 2024 to 36 months probation, 6 months home detention, $2,000 restitution, 100 hours community service. Full pardon January 20, 2025. This profile is unclaimed. If this is you, or your family, claiming it is free, forever.