At least seven men from the Inland Empire will be pardoned after President Donald Trump’s inauguration-day pardon of Jan. 6 defendants.
Those include Daniel Joseph Rodriguez of Fontana, Erik Scott Warner of Menifee, Felipe Antonio Martinez of Lake Elsinore, Derek Kinnison of Lake Elsinore, Ronald Mele of Temecula, Christina Kelso of Thermal, and Andrew Hernandez of Riverside.
Trump’s executive order said that he does hereby “grant a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021,” and ordered the immediate release of the prisoners.
The United States Attorney for the District of Columbia has filed their motion to dismiss the indictments against defendants.
Rodriguez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, tampering with evidence and assault against a police officer. He was sentenced June 21, 2023, to 12.5 years in federal prison, and is currently held at the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center.
His sentencing memorandum argued he was taken in by false claims made by Trump.
“Mr. Rodriguez believed the former President’s lies and manipulation, just as thousands of others did when they gathered at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, with the understanding they were there on behalf of the President of the United States to protect their government. It was this atmosphere of fear, lies, and uncertainty, created by former President Trump, that compelled Mr. Rodriguez to take a stand against the claimed corruption that resulted in a ‘stolen’ election,” his memorandum reads.
According to his plea agreement, Rodriguez attempted to enter the Capitol Building through the tunnel in front of the main doors. He threw a fire extinguisher at officers, and pushed against officers for 45 minutes. He received a taser from another person in the tunnel, and repeatedly pressed it against Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone’s neck. Fanone lost consciousness, and was hospitalized for his injuries. He survived, and spoke to CNN after Rodriguez’s pardon, saying that he and his families have received threats.
“I have been betrayed by my country. Rest assured, I have been betrayed by my country, and I have been betrayed by those that supported Donald Trump. Whether you voted for him because he promised these pardons, or for some other reason, you knew that this was coming, and here we are. Tonight, six individuals who assaulted me as I did my job on Jan. 6, as did hundreds of other law enforcement officers, will now walk free,” Fanone told Anderson Cooper.
Rodriguez followed other rioters through a broken window, rifled through papers and told others to “look for intel,” his plea agreement said. After leaving the building, he posted “Tazzed the f**k out of the blue.” (sic)
Warner, Martinez, Kinnison and Mele were convicted by jury of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and obstruction of an official proceeding. Warner and Kinnison were also convicted of tampering with records.
Warner and Kinnison are held at Lompoc Federal Correctional Institution (FCI), California, and would have been released Feb. 2, 2026, and July 13, 2026, respectively.
Martinez is held at Yazoo City Low FCI, Mississippi, and would have been released Aug. 31, 2025.
Mele is held at FCI Oakdale, Louisiana, and would have been released June 23, 2026.
Prosecutors claimed they were members of the Three Percenter militia. As Warner walked up the stairs to the Capitol Building’s Upper West Terrace, Warner told people to “hold the line,” according to prosecutors. At the same time, Martinez, Kinnison and Mele told the crowd to “Push, push, push,” against the police line on the northwest lawn.
Warner entered into the Capitol Building through a smashed window, and the others followed him there.
They carried knives and bear spray.
“Erik Warner, Tony Martinez, Derek Kinnison and Ronald Mele conspired together, and with others, to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power. They loaded up a van with weapons and traveled across the country with the single-minded purpose to obstruct the certification of the Electoral College results, because they refused to accept the outcome of the democratic process,” the government’s sentencing memorandum reads.
Warner’s sentencing memorandum says he was caught up in the riot.
“He knew that going into the Capitol was wrong, which is why he was only there for less than three minutes. Going to the Capitol was something he did out of his own volition for his own reasons; once he went in however, he realized he was now a part of something he did not intend. That is, he entered at 2:14 p.m. and exited at 2:16:51 p.m.,” his memorandum reads.
“Erik Warner was invited to come to D.C. to hear the President of the United States speak on Jan. 6, 2021. As this Court heard during the trial, the road trip to hear the President speak turned into an unmanageable mob and riot. Mr. Warner ought to be sentenced for his conduct and his conduct alone-not the conduct of the other defendants.”
Kelso was charged with obstruction of law enforcement and obstruction of an official proceeding. Prosecutors claimed she was in the same chat as Warner, Martinez, Kinnison and Mele, and that she rushed the police line on the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol grounds, and refused a police officer’s order to back up. She was not accused of entering the Capitol building, and prosecutors claim she crouched down and refused to move after being hit with pepper spray.
According to her arrest warrant, she said she was never violent.
“So FBI couldn’t solve the murder of Biggie Smalls but they definitely have the Capitol figured out. I was on the line. I got pepper sprayed pretty good. I couldn’t see for 20, 30 minutes. But of course I was never violent. Peaceful, pissed off Patriots,” she wrote.
She later asked if her group was thinking of coming back to Washington, D.C., for President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Hernandez pleaded guilty Sept. 21, 2022, to one count of aiding and abetting the obstruction of an official proceeding. His plea agreement says he was inside the Capitol Building for 14 minutes. He was not accused of damaging the Capitol. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Jan. 30, 2023.
