Trump-Pardoned Capitol Rioter Arrested Over Child Molestation Allegations

A man pardoned by US President Donald Trump after the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol now faces grave allegations of sexual abuse of minors.

Andrew Paul Johnson, 44, who pleaded guilty in 2024 to trespass and related offences for his role in the Capitol breach and received a presidential pardon on 20 January 2025, was arrested in August after a Hernando County, Florida, investigation alleged he molested two children and tried to silence a victim by invoking his pardon and promising money.

The charges include lewd and lascivious molestation of a child under 12 and of a child between 12 and 16, lewd exhibition, and transmitting harmful material to a minor; Johnson has pleaded not guilty. The arrest has intensified scrutiny of the blanket pardons issued to more than 1,500 defendants and raised fresh questions about whether clemency has emboldened violent or predatory behaviour.

The Arrest and the Allegations

Local authorities say the Hernando County Sheriff's Office opened the probe after the mother of one child discovered explicit messages on Discord and reported them to police in July 2025.

The probable-cause affidavit alleges one boy told investigators Johnson had molested him three times between 1 April 2024 and 1 October 2024, beginning when the child was 11 years old. Investigators recorded handwritten messages and electronic evidence that formed the basis for arrest warrants issued on 18 August 2025.

Court and booking records show Johnson was located and taken into custody by US Marshals in Franklin, Tennessee, on 26 August 2025 and extradited to Hernando County, where he is detained without bond on multiple counts.

The county detention system lists two active case files and several counts under Florida statutes for lewd and lascivious behaviour and transmission of harmful material to minors. Johnson's arraignments and the status of his cases are recorded in local court dockets.

The Capitol Record and the Pardon

Johnson pleaded guilty on 15 April 2024 to federal charges stemming from his actions at the Capitol, including entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct; he was later sentenced in August 2024 to a custodial term and supervised release, and was among those granted clemency when Trump issued mass pardons on 20 January 2025.

Johnson is on record in court filings and FBI affidavits as one of the rioters who entered the Capitol through a breached window on the Lower West Terrace and who described himself publicly as a 'Proud j6er'.

The new criminal complaints bypass the federal plea that led to his pardon and concern alleged conduct entirely unrelated to January 6. Authorities allege Johnson used the pardon as leverage, telling a child he would be awarded £7.6 million ($10,000,000) as a 'Jan 6er' and that the child would be placed in his will, a tactic investigators say was used to intimidate the victim into silence.

Legal Stakes and Public Consequences

If convicted in Florida state court, Johnson faces significant prison exposure under statutes for child molestation and related offences; the state prosecutor's filings list multiple counts across two separate county case numbers.

Defense counsel has entered a not guilty plea, and pre-trial motions and scheduling are pending in Hernando County courts. The indictment does not alter Johnson's federal pardon, which applies only to the federal offences for which he was clemenced.

Two families now face the trauma of public court battles while their children undergo interviews and forensic examinations. Investigators say the alleged grooming included online communications and promises of financial reward, actions that prosecutors describe as deliberate deception to keep victims silent.

For local communities, the case is a reminder that the ripples from national political theatre can, in individual lives, cause profound harm.

Andrew Paul Johnson remains presumed innocent under law; his lawyer has not publicly responded to requests for comment and the White House declined to comment on individual pardons beyond the general policy. The trials have been scheduled to proceed in county court early next year.

A man's pardon does not, in the eyes of his accusers and the prosecutors who brought these charges, erase alleged acts against children — and the legal system must now weigh those claims on their merits.