NC man says his Jan. 6 pardon from Trump means child porn charges should be dropped too
A Mint Hill man is arguing that his indictment on charges of producing and possessing child pornography is null because images were found during an investigation into his role at the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.
The office of U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson, however, is opposed to dismissing the charges, a court record said.
Investigators in Washington “allegedly observed images of a nude minor female, drug paraphernalia, and firearms” after they seized David Paul Daniel’s phone and computer in November 2023, according to a motion Daniel’s attorney filed in federal court Wednesday.
That attorney, William Terpening, declined to comment Friday.
Daniel is asking a judge to either dismiss the case or suppress all evidence the government found.
“The charges here are unrelated to the January 6 case,” his motion said. “Mr. Daniel does not argue that the Pardon directly reaches this case. Rather, the Pardon requires dismissal because this case is entirely based on evidence that was seized pursuant to search warrants obtained exclusively in furtherance of that now-pardoned January 6 case.”
On his first day back in office, President Donald Trump pardoned more than 1,500 people tied to the 2021 Capitol riot, calling it a way to begin “national reconciliation” and end a “grave national injustice.”
The deaths of five people and injuries to 174 law enforcement officers are attributed to the Jan. 6 attacks. Another four officers would die by suicide.
Mint Hill man’s case
About two weeks before Trump returned to the White House, Daniel pleaded guilty to assaulting, resisting or impeding officers, a felony.
Federal prosecutors said he traveled to the National Mall to join the “Stop the Steal” rally that turned into the riot at the Capitol. Daniel was part of a mob that pushed a barricade blocking the Senate Wing into police, the prosecutors said in a Jan. 8 news release.
The Charlotte Observer previously reported that after being sprayed with a chemical irritant, he left through a broken window and re-entered through a different window. He walked through hallways, the Small House Rotunda and the Capitol Crypt.
He lost his beanie during the attack, an FBI agent said in a criminal complaint.
Federal agents said they found child porn when they got a search warrant, according to the Wednesday filing.
A federal grand jury indicted him on two charges last October: producing and possessing child pornography.
Other cases have been dismissed
Daniel is asking a judge to either dismiss the case or suppress all evidence the government found.
Other cases built from Jan. 6 investigations have been dismissed. The Justice Department last month asked a judge to dismiss an unrelated gun charge against a man in Florida, CBS News reported. That charge, too, stemmed from a Jan. 6 investigation.
But federal prosecutors do not want to dismiss Daniel’s child pornography case, according to a footnote in his Wednesday filing. It said a prosecutor indicated “that the government opposes the relief requested in this Motion.”
“If the scope and ramifications of the Executive Order are construed more narrowly for Mr. Daniel than they have been for other similarly situated defendants by other district courts, Mr. Daniel’s due process rights will be violated,” the filing argued.
Ryan Oehrli covers criminal justice in the Charlotte region for The Charlotte Observer. His work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The Observer maintains full editorial control of its journalism.