Rochester Woman Pardoned for January 6 Capitol Riot Conviction

Washington D.C. (KROC-AM News)- A Rochester woman was one of more than 1,500 people to be pardoned from convictions or charges connected to the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. 

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Hours after taking the Oath of Office on Monday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that granted sweeping pardons to the defendants and commuted the sentences of 14 individuals convicted for the Capitol breach. 

The executive action, which is posted on the White House’s website, orders, “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;” 

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The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Washington D.C. said as of January 6, 2025 that about 1,100 defendants were convicted and sentenced for their roles in the riot. 

Rochester Woman Convicted & Sentenced for January 6 Capitol Riot Pardoned

One of the convicted was a Rochester woman named Victoria Charity White. White was sentenced to 10 days in federal prison, 90 days of in-home confinement and supervised release for 24 months in November of 2023. 

She pleaded guilty to one count of civil disorder and aiding and abetting in August of that year after being arrested in March of 2021, according to federal court documents. 

Court documents say video captured the day of the riot shows White moving about the Capitol grounds with a mob and arguing with rioters who were attempting to break glass at an entrance into the building. 

She is then seen with a group of rioters, who used a flag pole to force a large flagpole at a tunnel entryway that was being guarded by Metropolitan Police Officers, a news release issued by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia said.  

Federal court filings also accuse White of pushing her way towards the entrance and hoisting a rioter who then assaulted law enforcement over top of the crowd.

Moments later, she is spotted grabbing for an officer standing on a ledge in the area of the lower West Terrace entrance. 

The officers pushed her back with a riot shield and baton, the news release says. White grabbed one of the shields and blocked the baton with her hand. She was then escorted out of the building.