Kevin Loftus still wears the jogging pants and t-shirt provided by the Philadelphia prison that he left in the night, pardoned by Donald Trump like so many other attackers of the Capitol. He appeared in front of the Washington jail on Tuesday “to get everyone out”.
Near a group of Republican supporters wearing caps and flags in the cold of the American capital, he tells AFP about waiting for the announcement of the newly inaugurated Republican president, Monday evening in his cell equipped with a television without sound.
“It was seven o’clock in the evening, he signed” the decrees but, without hearing, “we didn’t know anything” of what he had actually decided. “And at 11 o’clock in the evening, (the guards) came, knocked on my cell and said ‘you’re going out, pack your things’, and I was, ‘woohoo’, so happy. »
Hours after taking office, Donald Trump signed a presidential order pardoning more than 1,270 participants in the attack on the Capitol. On January 6, 2021, hundreds of his supporters, heated by his baseless accusations of electoral fraud, stormed the Capitol to try to prevent the certification of the victory of his opponent Joe Biden.
The measure, criticized by the Democrats, made it possible to release without delay some of those convicted on January 6, but others are still waiting for procedural reasons.
Kevin Loftus left the prison in Philadelphia, in the northeast of the United States, at two a.m. in the company of another inmate from the assault on the Capitol, William Sarsfield III. His wife had driven more than 20 hours from Texas to pick them up and they went straight to Washington.
“We love you! »
Sentenced to a suspended sentence with probation for his presence in the Capitol on January 6, 2021, Kevin Loftus was arrested at the end of 2024. “I was out of my zone” of authorized stay, he tells AFP, candidly. Which sent him behind bars.

Supporters of the Capitol attackers wait for them to be released in front of the Washington prison, January 21, 2025 / ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP
According to court documents, the 50-year-old, a former soldier, had tried to go to Russia to fight against Ukraine. He was arrested after failing to board a plane to Turkey.
At his side on this cold Tuesday, William Sarsfield III – convicted of disturbing the peace – is remembering his weeks in prison “the atmosphere between comrades” from January 6. He says to himself “blessed to have put the endless day behind him” of detention.
In front of the prison, around twenty of their supporters and numerous journalists, he has in his hand “jackets, gloves and hats for prisoners who are going to be released”.
At one point, two men actually came out of the penitentiary establishment and the fans of the January 6 detainees ran towards them, shouting ” Freedom! » or “We love you! ».
Alas, the two rush silently into a car: they had nothing to do with the assault on the Capitol, slips one of the police officers deployed at the entrance to the prison.
Three released

Edward Jacob Lang, prosecuted for the assault on the Capitol, released from a Washington prison, January 21, 2024 / ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP
Stewart Rhodes, founder of the far-right Oath Keepers militia and released from another prison overnight, told reporters he felt “joy, a feeling of gratitude” when leaving. His 18-year prison sentence — one of the heaviest sentences handed down to the Capitol attackers — was cut short by Donald Trump on Monday evening.
Coming to await the release of his “brothers”this far-right leader known for his black eye patch declared that the decision of the Republican president « valid » in its action, ensuring that it has not ” none “ regret over the assault on the Capitol.
The acts of sedition for which he was convicted constitute one “of the most serious crimes an American can commit”thundered the federal judge during his sentence in May 2023.
At the end of the day Tuesday, three detainees were finally released and immediately hugged their loved ones who had been waiting for them for hours, noted an AFP photographer.