Five years. That’s how long it has been since the world watched the U.S. Capitol get stormed on a cold Wednesday afternoon. If you’ve been trying to keep track of the list of jan 6 arrests, you know it’s a total maze.
Federal prosecutors called it the largest criminal investigation in American history. It basically took over the Department of Justice for half a decade. FBI agents ended up knocking on doors from the suburbs of Los Angeles to the small towns of Maine.
Honestly, the numbers are staggering.
By the time the dust settled and the political winds shifted in early 2025, over 1,500 people had been charged. We are talking about everything from simple trespassing to seditious conspiracy. It wasn’t just a few "bad actors"—it was a massive cross-section of the country.
But then, everything changed in a single day.
The Current State of the List of Jan 6 Arrests
When President Trump returned to office on January 20, 2025, his first major act was a massive clemency sweep. This effectively froze the official list of jan 6 arrests in time.
For about 1,109 individuals, the record was wiped clean with a full and unconditional pardon. These were people like Jacob Chansley—the "QAnon Shaman"—who had already finished his prison term, and hundreds of others who were still waiting for their day in court.
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However, it wasn't a total "get out of jail free" card for everyone.
There were 14 specific names that stood out. These were the high-profile leaders of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers.
People like Enrique Tarrio, who was serving a 22-year sentence, and Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers. Trump didn't pardon them. Instead, he commuted their sentences to "time served." This means they walked out of prison immediately, but unlike the others, their convictions stayed on their records. They are still technically felons.
Why the distinction? It’s complicated. Some legal analysts think it was a way to acknowledge the severity of the "seditious conspiracy" charges while still fulfilling a campaign promise to get them home.
Breaking Down the Charges
Before the pardons, the DOJ had a 100% conviction rate in jury trials. Every single person who took their case to a jury in D.C. was found guilty of at least one charge.
- Assaulting Officers: Roughly 562 people were charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement.
- Weapon Possession: Over 160 defendants faced charges for entering a restricted area with a "dangerous or deadly weapon." This included everything from bear spray to flagpoles used as clubs.
- Obstruction: Thousands of hours were spent debating "obstruction of an official proceeding." This was the charge that hit many of the rioters who just walked through the halls.
The Aftermath: New Arrests for Old Names
You might think the story ended with the pardons. It didn't.
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Since the mass release in 2025, a small but notable group from the original list of jan 6 arrests has found their way back into the system. According to a December 2025 report from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), at least 33 people have been rearrested for new, unrelated crimes.
It’s a bizarre twist.
Take Edward Kelley, for example. He was one of the first to breach the Capitol and was later found guilty of plotting to murder the FBI agents who investigated him. After his J6-related pardon, he was rearrested on entirely different charges involving the solicitation of a minor.
Then there's Emily Hernandez. She was famous for a photo showing her holding a piece of Nancy Pelosi's nameplate. After her pardon, she ended up being sentenced to 10 years for a drunk driving accident that killed someone back in 2022.
The pardons could stop the federal government from prosecuting the events of that one day, but they couldn't stop the consequences of life afterward.
Where the Investigation Stands in 2026
If you go to the FBI’s "Most Wanted" page today, you’ll still see a few faces from January 6. The most famous "missing" person is the individual who placed pipe bombs at the DNC and RNC headquarters.
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Despite a $500,000 reward and years of digital forensics, that person remains a ghost.
The DOJ under the current administration has largely moved on. Most of the active cases were dismissed "with prejudice" following the executive orders in early 2025. This means they can't be refiled.
Summary of the Numbers
To keep it simple, here is a rough look at how the 1,500+ cases were resolved:
- Pardoned: 1,109 people (Convictions erased).
- Commuted: 14 people (Released, but convictions remain).
- Dismissed: Over 400 cases (Trials that never happened).
- Sentences Served: Hundreds of people had already completed their time before the pardons even happened.
Navigating the Records
If you are looking for a specific name, the NPR database and the Department of Justice’s "Capitol Breach Cases" page are the most reliable archives. Even though the prosecutions have stopped, these databases serve as a historical record of who was there and what they were accused of doing.
It is worth noting that some states are still dealing with the fallout. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom’s office launched a site to track what they call "criminal cronies," focusing on pardoned individuals who have committed new crimes in his state.
Actionable Next Steps
If you're researching this for legal or historical reasons, don't just rely on social media snippets.
- Check the D.C. District Court records: Most J6 documents are public via PACER, though you'll have to pay a few cents per page.
- Verify the Pardon Status: Remember that a pardon is a "full release" from the legal penalty, but it doesn't mean the arrest never happened. It still shows up in background checks unless it's specifically expunged.
- Track Civil Litigation: While criminal charges are mostly gone, some police officers and lawmakers are still pursuing civil lawsuits against certain individuals. These cases aren't affected by presidential pardons.
The saga of the January 6 arrests is basically a closed chapter in the criminal courts, but in the civil courts and the court of public opinion, it's still very much alive.