A North Carolina man pardoned by Donald Trump for his role in the Capitol riots, is now facing charges related to child pornography and sexual exploitation of minors, stemming from a separate investigation.
David Daniel, 37, pleaded guilty on January 8, 2025, to assaulting police officers during the January 6 Capitol attack, where he helped lead a violent push against a barricaded Senate Wing door, QC News reported.
His conviction, carrying a maximum sentence of eight years, was erased when President Trump issued sweeping pardons for January 6 participants shortly after returning to office.
Daniel's legal troubles extend beyond the Capitol riots. In November 2023, federal agents and local police executed a search warrant at his Mint Hill home.
While investigating January 6 allegations, they uncovered electronic devices containing images of child sexual abuse. These findings corroborated statements from a minor under 12 years old who alleged that Daniel sexually abused her between 2015 and 2019.
The investigation also revealed a statutory rape case involving a second minor, leading to Daniel's September 2024 arrest on charges of possession of child pornography, sexual exploitation, and trafficking of child pornography.
His legal team could argue that the evidence supporting the child pornography charges, discovered during a search tied to the Capitol investigation, should be excluded.
Daniel has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and investigators are working to determine the full extent of his alleged crimes.
Authorities confirmed that the content on Daniel's seized devices aligned with forensic interviews from at least two victims, but it remains unclear how many minors may have been affected.
Daniel's pardon for the Capitol riot does not affect his ongoing child pornography case, which will proceed in federal court.
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