One of the most controversial actions President Donald Trump has taken since kicking off his second administration is his pardon of 1,500 people who were charged in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. But not all of those pardons are being accepted.
Idaho resident Pamela Hemphill, 71, spent 60 days in prison after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor offense for entering the Capitol during that day. She even became known online as the “MAGA Granny.” But when the president issued his sweeping forgiveness to everyone involved in the riot, Hemphill had a surprising response: No thanks.
In a new interview, Hemphill tells our very own Katie Couric that accepting the pardon “would be a slap in the face to the Capitol police officers, to the rule of law, and to our nation.”
It’s an unexpected reaction that’s drawing lots of attention online, but Hemphill is resolute in her choice. “All the lies they’ve put out there about Jan. 6, they’re trying to rewrite history. And I don’t want to be a part of rewriting history with them,” she says.
So how is the MAGA crowd reacting to her rejection of Trump’s pardon?
“They won’t talk to me because for a year and a half, I’ve been debunking them,” Hemphill says. “There’s nobody that I’ve heard of [who agrees with me]. I wish somebody could take accountability and stand with me. But no, I haven’t heard from anybody.”
In the video above, Hemphill talks at length with Katie about why she went to the Capitol on Jan. 6 in the first place, what happened while she was there, and how she feels about Trump’s second term so far.
