Pardoned Jan. 6 Rioter to Plead Guilty in Child Exploitation Case
Federal court records reveal that David Daniel, a participant in the January 6 Capitol riot who received a pardon from President Trump, is preparing to plead guilty to charges related to child exploitation.
Daniel has entered a plea agreement concerning allegations of sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of explicit images of children in the Western District of North Carolina. Court documents indicate that between 2015 and 2016, he enticed a child under the age of 12 to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of creating visual depictions of that conduct.
Investigators uncovered details of Daniel's case while examining his role in the Capitol attack. Prosecutors allege he also persuaded another minor, who was under 18, to participate in similar conduct for visual documentation.
The timeline for sentencing remains uncertain. In a previous admission, just before Trump’s mass clemency for January 6 defendants, Daniel acknowledged assaulting law enforcement during the Capitol breach. His arrest related to the January 6 events occurred in November 2023.
Other pardoned individuals from the January 6 incident have faced convictions in separate criminal matters, including child sexual abuse. For instance, Daniel Tocci received a four-year prison sentence in March, while Andrew Paul Johnson was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of child sex crimes. Prosecutors in Florida noted that Johnson attempted to silence one victim by promising financial compensation from a potential settlement with the Trump administration, which has not confirmed such agreements.
In January, U.S. District Judge Matthew Orso ruled that "child exploitation is not 'conduct related to the events at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021,’” clarifying that the pardon’s language does not extend to Daniel's indictment.
Daniel's attorney has yet to respond to inquiries regarding the case. In February 2025, during a hearing for another rioter, Dan Wilson, a judge referenced Daniel's prosecution while questioning how the Trump administration delineated its pardons. The administration opted to treat firearms seized during January 6 raids differently from child sexual abuse materials discovered during investigations.
Trump later issued a separate pardon for Wilson concerning his gun offense alongside his January 6 actions. Meanwhile, attorneys for Brian Cole Jr., accused of planting pipe bombs outside national committee headquarters prior to the January 6 attack, have claimed that Trump's pardon should apply to his actions. However, federal prosecutors asserted that the pardon does not cover Cole's conduct.
