Damian Johnston, circled in yellow, is shown inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The photo was included in a criminal complaint against Johnston. (Image from U.S. District Court document)
By: Jeff Beach
WASHINGTON (North Dakota Monitor) – Charges against a former North Dakota man who was at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6., 2021, riot have been dismissed.
Damian Johnston agreed to plead guilty last year to two misdemeanor counts, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a Capitol building or grounds and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
According to documents filed in federal court in the District of Columbia, the charges against Johnston have been dismissed because of the blanket pardons for nearly all Jan. 6 defendants issued by President Donald Trump on Monday.
Johnston, a former vice chair for the North Dakota Young Republican, posted on X that he had been informed by his lawyer that he had been pardoned.
“Its over! I have my rights back!” Johnston included in his post.
He had been scheduled to be sentenced in February.
Johnston now lives in Wisconsin, according to court documents.
His father, state Rep. Daniel Johnston, R-Kathryn, on Monday said he feels good that his son will be able to continue to walk the streets as a free man.
“We no longer live under a two-tiered justice system,” Rep. Johnston told the North Dakota Monitor. “It’s a new day for America.”
Daniel Johnston previously said his son “got swept up in a crowd” at the Capitol but followed the directions of police.
Trump’s order does not list all those pardoned, naming only 14. But it calls for 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 January 6, 2021.”
Two other men with North Dakota ties were charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.
Rockne Earles of Oriska was accused of assaulting an officer at the Capitol, according to Department of Justice documents.
Eric Zeis, who graduated from Fargo South High School and was living in Colorado, forced his way inside the Capitol, according to Department of Justice documents.
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