'We were wrong that day': Convicted US Capitol rioter refuses Trump's pardon

One of the people who was imprisoned for taking part in the January 6 US Capital riots four years back, has refused a pardon from President Donald Trump, saying, "We were wrong that day."

This comes after Trump announced to pardon or commute the sentences of nearly 1,600 people involved in the attempt to violently overturn the 2020 election.

Pamela Hemphill pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 60 days in prison, and told BBC that there should be no pardons for the riot on January 6, 2021.

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'Would insult rule of law'

"Accepting a pardon would only insult the Capitol police officers, the rule of law, and, of course, our nation," she said.

"I pleaded guilty because I was guilty, and accepting a pardon also would serve to contribute to their gaslighting and false narrative."

Hemphill was nicknamed the "Maga Granny" by social media users, in reference to Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan.

She said that she saw the Trump government as trying to "Rewrite history and I don't want to be part of that."

"We were wrong that day, we broke the law - there should be no pardons," Hemphill told the BBC World Service's Newsday programme.

On Tuesday, Trump in a news conference at the White House said, "These people have already served years in prison, and they've served them viciously. It's a disgusting prison. It's been horrible. It's inhumane. It's been a terrible, terrible thing."

A report by the New York Times (NYT) said that the proclamation meant that everyone prosecuted by the Justice Department, from the plotters imprisoned for seditious conspiracy and felons convicted of assaulting cops to those who merely trespassed on the restricted grounds on January 6, 2021, would soon be released from incarceration if they were still in federal custody.

However, Trump's decision has drawn different reactions from some Republican politicians.

Senator Thom Tillis, a resident of North Carolina, said he "just can't agree" with the decision, adding that it "raises legitimate safety issues on Capitol Hill".

Another Republican US senator, James Lankford from Oklahoma, told CNN, "I think we need to continue to say we are a party of law and order."

"I think if you attack a police officer, that's a very serious issue and they should pay a price for that," he added.

According to the proclamation, the 14 accused were identified as Stewart Rhodes, Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Thomas Caldwell, Jessica Watkins, Roberto Minuta, Edward Vallejo, David Moerschel, Joseph Hackett, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, Dominic Pezzola, and Jeremy Bertino.

(With inputs from agencies)