2 from McHenry County, convicted in Jan. 6 actions at U.S. Capitol, among those expected to get Trump pardons

Two McHenry County residents who have pleaded guilty to charges connected to their actions on Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol, have been pardoned for their crimes on the first day of President Donald Trump’s second term in office, along with more than 1,500 others.

Trump signed an executive order on Monday granting “full, complete and unconditional pardon” to hundreds of people who’ve been convicted of offenses “related to the events that occurred” on Jan. 6, 2021 “at or near” the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves described the Jan. 6 events at the Capitol as “a violent attack that forced an interruption of Congress’s certification of the 2020 Electoral College vote count, threatened the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 Presidential election, injured more than one hundred police officers and resulted in more than $2.9 million in losses.”

Trump has long defended the Jan. 6 rioters and he has characterized the them as “patriots” and “hostages,” according to a report on Tuesday from the Associated Press. Trump’s actions on Monday have also led to the prison release of leaders of far-right extremist groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.

Robert Giacchetti, 59, of Crystal Lake, had pleaded guilty in November to one count of assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement, according to federal court records and a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington.

“His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in the release.

Giacchetti’s sentencing had been set for June 3, according to court records.

Prosecutors alleged that Giacchetti used “a bullhorn to yell profanities and insults at law enforcement officers,” according to the release. He was also accused of confronting officers maintaining a police line, “using his right elbow and hip to push against a riot shield, causing an officer to be driven backward,” prosecutors alleged.

“Once inside, he moved to the Rotunda, the Rotunda Lobby, and the Gallery Stairs, where he chanted ‘Treason!’ through his bullhorn to the rioters below,” officials said in the release. “Giacchetti then joined a crowd in the East Corridor, where some individuals banged on closed office doors and shouted, ‘1776!’ He continued to use his bullhorn to yell during this time.”

Nhi Ngoc Mai Le, formerly of Lake in the Hills, was sentenced in February of last year to 10 days in prison and fined $1,000 after pleading guilty in November 2023 to misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct in a Capitol building or grounds and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building, court records show.

Mai Le, whom court documents now list as living in Montgomery, was originally charged with entering and remaining in a restricted building; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building or grounds; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

The FBI was able to identify Mai Le because she posted “several pictures to her Facebook account of herself at a rally in Washington, D.C., and inside the U.S. Capitol building,” according to a criminal complaint filed against Mai Le in federal court.

In a court document, Mai Le wrote of emigrating to the U.S. and how she regretted her involvement with those who rioted at the Capitol.

“I feel shame and remorse. It’s embarrassing. I love this country deeply. I even have a tattoo on my hand with the date I arrived in the United States,” Mai Le wrote in a court document. “When the news portrayed me as a troublemaker, a terrorist at the Capitol, I felt devastated and ashamed. If given a chance to redo my life, I would not have gone to D.C. on Jan. 6. The events of that day have caused me a lot of pain for a long time.”

Both attorneys representing Giacchetti and Mai Le said they believe their clients' cases will be pardoned and dismissed based on the executive order.

Associated Press contributed.