Indiana
These are the Indiana residents charged in Jan. 6 riot who could be pardoned by Trump
Indiana Senator Mike Braun on the riots at the United States Capitol
Indiana Senator Mike Braun answers questions on the riots at the United States Capitol.
Grace Hollars, Indianapolis Star
INDIANAPOLIS — President-elect Donald Trump has promised to pardon rioters accused in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack at the U.S. Capitol on his first day in office.
If he follows through, the move will affect at least 28 Hoosiers.
That’s how many Indiana residents have been charged in the massive investigation into the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, which has resulted in more than 1,000 arrests nationwide. Among the Indiana arrestees, 21 have been sentenced. Trump’s promise has already resonated with at least one of them, a Bloomington man who’s publicly voiced that he’s banking on Trump pardoning him for his crimes and didn’t show up to serve his time.
“I’m going to look at everything. We’re going to look at individual cases,” Trump pledged in his “Meet the Press” interview.
It remains unclear who Trump may pardon, such as whether potential pardons will be awarded to those charged with violent crimes.
Which Jan. 6 defendants from Indiana could be pardoned?
Nancy Barron
From: Patriot
In May 2024, a federal judge sentenced Barron to three years on probation after a jury found her guilty of her charges in the Jan. 6 attack.
Investigators said Barron turned herself in after telling police she had entered the Capitol that day. She was then handed her numerous nonviolent charges, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
James Link Behymer
From: Hope
In October 2024, Behymer and his alleged accomplice, Donald Moss, pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement officers during the Capitol breach.
According to an arrest complaint, the pair are accused of physically confronting police officers on the Lower West Terrace of the U.S. Capitol building as law enforcement ordered the mob to “move back.”
Behymer is seen on body camera footage grabbing an officer’s baton and pushing other law enforcement officials’ hands away.
Behymer and Moss each pleaded guilty to assaulting, resisting or impeding an officer.
They are scheduled to be sentenced in February 2025.
Dona Sue Bissey
From: Bloomfield
Bissey was sentenced October 2021 to two weeks of incarceration, 60 hours of community service and a $500 fine after pleading guilty to one of her charges of entering the Capitol during the attack.
Bissey was at the Capitol that day with her friend and fellow Hoosier, Anna Morgan-Lloyd – who became the first Jan. 6 defendant to be sentenced in the country.
Eric Cantrell, Jared Cantrell, Quentin Cantrell
From: Greenwood and Indianapolis
Jared Cantrell and his two cousins are accused of illegally entering the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, after surveillance footage and social media posts showed the men taking selfies in the Rotunda and climbing over the West Terrace.
Through plea deals or jury trials, each has been convicted for entering the building.
On March 27, 2023, Eric Cantrell was sentenced to three months of probation, 40 hours of community service and $1,510 in fines and restitution. A month later, Jared Cantrell was found guilty of his charges and sentenced to six months of incarceration followed by a year on supervised release, 100 hours of community service and ordered to pay $500 in restitution and another $8,060 in fines.
Quentin Cantrell was sentenced to six days of incarceration, a year on probation, $500 in restitution and $6,035 in fines the same month.
Michael Greene
From: Indianapolis
Greene, accused of being an “operations leader” hired by the far-right Oath Keepers group, was ordered to two years’ probation July 2023 after being found guilty of entering a restricted building. He was acquitted of his more serious alleged offenses in what the Associated Press described as a “rare setback” for prosecutors.
Prosecutors accused Greene of conspiring with the Oath Keepers in breaching the U.S. Capitol, a claim Greene denied during his trial. The federal judge overseeing the case went against the recommended one year behind bars, arguing Greene did not enter the Capitol building, nor did he have a major presence in the group’s chats, the report states.
Ian Horvath
From: Plymouth
In May 2023, Horvath was ordered to serve three years of probation after pleading guilty to entering the Capitol during the breach, telling investigators he livestreamed the event.
Still surveillance footage photos show Horvath inside the Capitol for 30 minutes wearing a furry hat with a raccoon tail. He was then seen exiting the building and telling other rioters, “Come on in, all are welcome.”
Horvath entered a plea of guilty to a charge of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
Dale Huttle
From: Crown Point
Dale Huttle and his nephew, Matthew Huttle, were each sentenced to prison for their involvement during the breach, which included the elder Huttle striking police officers.
Court documents state he was captured on surveillance footage among a crowd on the Lower West Terrace trying to push a bike rack placed by officers as a barrier. He is then seen holding an American flagpole and striking two officers on the steps.
In June 2024, Dale Huttle was ordered to two and a half years behind bars, followed by two years on supervised release after pleading guilty to assaulting, resisting or impeding officers.
Matthew Huttle
From: Hebron
Matthew Huttle was arrested after investigators say he was seen on video inside the Capitol building going into “multiple” offices, the Crypt area and hallways.
He was sentenced November 2023 to six months in prison and a year on supervised release after pleading guilty to entering and remaining in a restricted building, a lower charge than issued to his uncle, Dale Huttle – who he traveled with that day.
Kash Lee Kelly
From: Hammond
Court records state Kelly posted photos of himself on social media climbing a wall at the U.S. Capitol, in one caption stating “the day we let the Traitors who constantly push the divide in OUR country know that we are done playing their games.”
He was sentenced November 2022 to 60 days in prison after entering a plea to one count of violent and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Troy Koen
From: Brownsburg
Koen pleaded guilty in November 2024 to assaulting law enforcement officers after investigators say he was seen yanking away a barricade and using a flagpole to jab toward police during the Capitol breach.
A criminal complaint states surveillance footage shows Koen using the pole donned with Trump 2020 and Confederate flags to jab double doors in the Lower West Terrace tunnel and help break the glass. As rioters pushed into the crowd, Koen continued to jab at the officer line.
He’s scheduled to be sentenced February 2025.
David Scott Kuntz
From: Elizabeth
Kuntz was taken into custody after being identified in video footage in a restricted area of the U.S. Capitol wearing a black tactical vest, according to a criminal complaint.
According to the FBI, Kuntz was seen watching rioters breach the grounds outside an entry on the Upper West Terrace and calling out “(explicit) the police.” He is associated with the Three Percenters, an extremist ideology falling within the larger antigovernment militia movement, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Investigators said that in the days leading up to Jan. 6, 2021, Kuntz on social media mentioned going to Washington D.C. “fully armed” and making a stand.
He pleaded guilty Dec. 2, 2024 to one count of conspiracy to impede or injure an officer. His sentencing is scheduled for April 1, 2025.
Mark Mazza
From: Shelbyville
Mazza was arrested after police say they retrieved his gun on the Capitol’s grounds following the riot and traced the weapon to him. Investigators say they further found him among the crowd on Jan. 6, 2021, trying to break into the West Front Terrace.
In October 2022, Mazza was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting, resisting and impeding officers with a dangerous weapon and carrying a pistol without a license.
Mazza reported the gun stolen to Shelbyville police two days after the Capitol breach, claiming it was taken from his car at a Hard Rock casino in Ohio.
Gregory Mijares
From: Crown Point
Capitol surveillance footage showed Mijares was among the first rioters to pursue police in the Lower West Terrace, according to a criminal complaint.
Investigators in the report said Mijares is seen wearing a gas mask and pursuing officers, then pulling open a broken glass door and ushering other rioters in.
He faces a felony civil disorder charge and two misdemeanor counts of entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct in a restricted building in the riot.
Anna Morgan-Lloyd
From: Bloomfield
Morgan-Lloyd made history as the first person to be sentenced in the Jan. 6 attacks.
In June 2021, she was sentenced to three years of probation after entering a plea in which she penned a note to the judge about her remorse for how the day turned violent. Morgan-Lloyd traveled to Washington D.C. to attend Donald Trump’s rally that day with her friend, Dona Sue Bissey.
One day after her apology in court, Morgan-Lloyd appeared on Fox News and downplayed the breach.
“Where I was at, we see nobody damage anything. People were actually very polite,” she said.
Donald Lee Moss
From: Elizabethtown
Moss pleaded guilty to assaulting officers after conceding to investigators that he struck and pushed law enforcement while outside the Capitol, including using a chair to block them from closing a door to the U.S. Senate wing.
He and his alleged accomplice, Beyhmer, are scheduled to be sentenced in February for assaulting, resisting or impeding an officer.
Jeffrey Munger
From: Goshen
Munger, according to a criminal complaint, told investigators he climbed through a broken window to enter the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot.
He told police the crowd behind him was pushing him into a corner and the only way to leave was through the building. Surveillance footage showed him leaving 14 minutes later.
Munger was sentenced to 30 months of probation in October 2022 after pleading guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
Arthur Reyher and Jessica Reyher
From: Brownsburg
The Indiana couple were among the first rioters to enter the tunnel on the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and push against a wall of police officers.
On Nov. 6, 2023, the Reyhers pleaded guilty to a felony offense of civil disorder.
Arthur Reyher was sentenced to eight months in prison. Jessica Reyher was sentenced to 90 days in prison in February 2024. The Reyhers were also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to each pay $2,000 in restitution.
Jonathan Ace Sanders Sr.
From: Vincennes
Sanders was arrested after the FBI received a tip that he bragged during his shift at a bakery about being just 70 feet away where Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot by Capitol police during the attack.
Investigators following up on the lead said Sanders told them he traveled to Washington D.C. that day and entered the Capitol building.
He pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building and was sentenced to three years of probation in November 2021.
Jon Ryan Schaffer
From: Columbus
The heavy metal guitarist was charged after being photographed arguing with police and unleashing a can of bear spray in the building.
Schaffer, a former member of the band Iced Earth, turned himself into the FBI 10 days after the riot. He pleaded guilty to unlawfully entering the U.S. Capitol to obstruct Congress’ certification of the U.S. presidential election results in 2021, marking the first Jan. 6 defendant to enter an agreement.
In his plea, Schaffer admitted to being one of the founders of the Oath Keepers, a right-wing militia group that describes itself as a “non-partisan association of current and formerly serving military, police and first responders.” Schaffer is not charged in the Justice Department’s conspiracy case against the organization.
Schaffer was sentenced to three years of probation on Oct. 25, 2024, more than three years after his guilty plea. He was also ordered to pay $1,200 in fines and restitution.
Curtis Logan Tate
From: Jeffersonville
According to police, Tate was seen striking a police officer and charging more law enforcement officials near the U.S. Capitol.
Body camera footage and surveillance videos showed him entering the Lower West Terrace tunnel and using a metal baton to strike an officer. He is then seen waving the baton, destroying property and throwing items at police, according to his criminal complaint.
Tate was sentenced July 2024 to more than five years in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting law enforcement.
Israel Tutrow
From: Greenfield
The Greenfield man was arrested after being seen moving in and out of the U.S. Capitol wearing a distinct black beanie with “TRUMP” lettering during the attack, according to court documents.
Tutrow entered a plea to and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
He was sentenced in December 2021 to three years of probation.
Annie Vo
From: Fishers
The Fishers mom and her son were charged in the Jan. 6 riot after police said the pair were seen entering the building the day of the attack.
Annie Vo was arrested March 7, 2024, on four counts pertaining to the riot, including entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
Her son, Antony Vo, was sentenced to prison for his participation in the attack and remains a federal fugitive.
Antony Vo
From: Bloomington
The former Indiana University student was found guilty of entering the U.S. Capitol and disorderly conduct in the Jan. 6 attack, having been seen in photographs posing with his mother inside the building.
A jury found him guilty in September 2023 on his charges of entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; violent entry or disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
Vo was sentenced in April 2024 to nine months in prison followed by a year of supervised release, but did not report to the correctional facility and remains a federal fugitive.
On Nov. 20, 2024, Vo told a reporter with WISH that he expects to be pardoned by Trump.
Joshua Wagner
From: Indianapolis
Wagner was charged in the Jan. 6 attack after law enforcement released a photo of him on a wanted poster. He would become the second Hoosier taken into custody for storming the U.S. Capitol.
Police said Wagner and his friend and another defendant, Israel Tutrow, were seen inside the Capitol building that day.
Wagner was sentenced to 30 days incarceration in February 2022 for a misdemeanor charge of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol Building.
William Lance Wilkerson
From: Bedford
Charging documents show Wilkerson’s Facebook comments, security camera images from the Capitol and cellphone records led to his arrest in the Jan. 6 riot.
Closed-circuit television footage captured six photographs of him inside the building wearing an olive-green jacket.
He was sentenced in November 2023 to two years probation after pleading guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
Contact IndyStar at sarah.nelson@indystar.com
Indiana
Northwest Indiana man trapped in Japan after being convicted of sexual assault fights to clear his name
A northwest Indiana man trapped in Japan for four years, fighting to clear his name.
Christopher Payne was convicted of sexually assaulting a Japanese woman, in a case that hinged heavily on DNA evidence.
There are so many issues with the DNA evidence in the case that Payne’s conviction has been overturned, and a retrial has been ordered. However, Chris is now facing severe health challenges, and his mother says she’s not sure how much longer he can survive in solitary confinement.
Pressing her palm against the inked outline of a hand is the closest Ronda Payne has come to a hug from her only child in more than four years. The outline was traced by Christopher inside his prison cell in Japan, half a world away.
“It’s the only physical thing that I have other than his letters,” Ronda said.
His words are a stark contrast to the young, adventure-loving Crown Point native who moved to Japan in 2013 after teaching himself Japanese as a teenager. He worked several jobs, including as an English teacher, and even found success in mixed martial arts.
The mother and son visited each other regularly until Nov. 25, 2021, when she got a call from a Japanese phone number she didn’t recognize.
“So I picked the phone up, and it was Chris’ boss. ‘Chris wanted me to let you know he’s been arrested,’” she said. “I said, ‘ Is it bad?’ They said, ‘It’s bad.’ What is it? A woman was attacked.”
But here comes the first of several twists—the crime had happened three years before.
In July of 2018, in the city of Ichikawa, a masked man followed a woman from a train station, threatened her, and sexually assaulted her while speaking fluent Japanese. Afterward, investigators recovered only trace DNA evidence from her mouth—mixed with her own—after she spat and rinsed her mouth before contacting police.
In a completely unrelated incident, in February 2020, Chris was arrested after drunkenly falling asleep in the entryway of a stranger’s home and consented to a voluntary DNA swab, not thinking twice about it. Then, in November 2021, police said they discovered that the DNA was “consistent” with that of the woman’s attacker.
“After that day, life stopped for me. It was over,” Ronda said.
“So, the victim originally reported to the police that she believed he was Japanese. He spoke during the attack, and spoke in perfectly unaccented Japanese, which is pretty much impossible to do for a non-native speaker,” said freelance journalist Gavin Blair.
Blair, who has lived and worked in Japan for more than two decades, began covering Chris’ case late last year. Not only did Chris not match the original suspect description, but the DNA evidence was anything but solid.
“They tested Chris’ DNA before the crime scene sample, which, as one of his lawyers described it, is like having the answer to the question before you take the test,” he said.
“It looked like they had… that they had been edited in some way,” said forensic DNA consultant Simon Ford.
Ford said he requested the underlying DNA data and found several significant issues.
Not only had the DNA files from the crime scene been edited to look more like Chris’ DNA — without any disclosure — but Ford discovered the DNA expert, appointed by the prosecution, also ran the test 34 times.
“What he did was he tested it over and over again, trying to hit the right value,” Ford said.
He said the DNA evidence would not have met admissibility standards in the United States.
“I think that this evidence really should just be disregarded,” Ford said.
After years of Chris refusing to confess to a crime he didn’t commit, these revelations were so significant that his legal team convinced the Tokyo High Court to overturn his guilty verdict in December of last year, and sent the case back to the Chiba District Court for a retrial.
After years of trying to convince anyone who would listen that her son was innocent and speaking out against Japan’s infamous legal practice, where suspects are held in prolonged pre-trial detention to coerce confessions, the high court’s ruling was an incredible turn of events, but not one that brought him home. Chris was denied bail until his retrial.
Blair said it could be another two or three years, but it’s not impossible to get the retrial.
“Prosecutors have huge amounts of power. Even judges are kind of wary of challenging their power,” he said.
As for Chris’ family.
“He has not talked on a phone. He has not hugged a person. He has not done anything in four years,” Ronda said. “As a mother, I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy. I would not.”
And his legal time are trying to raise awareness of his case…
“His case is like a concentration of issues the Japanese justice system has,” said Kiyomi Tsunogae, Chris’ attorney.
And hopefully put some pressure on the court system. Recently, that urgency has deepened after Chris suffered repeated episodes of vomiting blood and persistent headaches. Concerns are now raised that he could die before the case is retried or before a final decision.
“That’s what I’m afraid of. me and other lawyers, too, and other supporters. Really, it’s, we are not exaggerating,” Tsunogae said.
He’s spent four years in solitary confinement. Chris sketched a picture of the cell — a tiny space that closes in around him day by day.
Meanwhile, his mother says she won’t stop speaking out until she can hold her son in her arms.
“That’s our baby,” she said.
Instead of the letters he sends from the other side of the world.
“I will keep surviving,” Ronda read. “I’m tired, mom, but I won’t disappoint you.”
CBS News Chicago reached out to Indiana Congressman Frank Mrvan about the case. His office reached out to the U.S. ambassador to Japan in May of 2025 and was told a consular officer had been conducting regular visits. He also reached out again last week in light of Payne’s now urgent health concerns.
Chris’ family also started a petition demanding due process for him in Japan, posted on Change.org.
U.S. senators from Indiana were also contacted, but neither could provide any guidance on the case. There is also no word yet from the U.S. Embassy in Japan.
In a series-deciding game with postseason implications, both teams understood the importance of starting off hot offensively. It was Indiana who found a way to ride early momentum to a crucial victory.
The Michigan softball team (30-19 overall, 8-13 Big Ten) fell to the Hoosiers (37-13, 14-7) in an 11-2 trouncing. From the start, the Wolverines found themselves chasing the game.
The fireworks were on display early and often for both teams. After struggling to muster much power against junior right-hander Gabby Ellis in Game 2, Indiana responded forcefully in the top of the first with a two out grand slam from center fielder Ellie Goins. Just like that, Michigan faced another deficit to overcome early.
However, the Wolverines responded to the initial Hoosier surge with some power of their own. Junior left fielder Ella Stephenson exhibited the exact power Michigan needed to stay in this game with a two-RBI home run to center.
Early on, this game had the making of an offensive shootout. With both pitchers struggling to deal with the two prolific offenses along with a couple of fielding mishaps, it appeared that the series finale could turn into a race to double digits. That inspired more explosive offense in the second.
Unmarred by the Wolverines’ answer, Indiana continued to cause problems at the plate and on the bases in the second inning. Although Ellis did not allow hard contact to start the frame, hard base running and strong plate discipline allowed the Hoosiers to put pressure on Michigan’s circle with runners on first and third. That set the table for another massive three-run home run from Indiana catcher Avery Parker to extend the lead to 7-2. That paved the way for an early exit for Ellis.
After multiple strong innings of relief from sophomore right-hander Kat Meyers, it looked like the Wolverines had a beacon of hope with the Hoosiers’ offense slowing down. And with back to back singles from junior center fielder Jenissa Conway and redshirt junior catcher Lilly Vallimont, the opportunity to get back in the game was there. But unlike Indiana, Michigan struggled to capitalize with runners on base after a strikeout from senior second baseman Janelle Ilacqua stranded the bases loaded.
Even though Indiana held a five run lead entering the fifth, the Wolverines actually matched the Hoosiers five hits at that point. The difference was, unlike Saturday, Indiana’s early power was too much to handle. Meanwhile, Michigan’s lack of similar clinical hitting made it difficult for it to climb out of that deficit.
Following a strong start, Meyers finally could not hold off the Hoosiers’ offense. A second home run from Parker set the tone for the inning as Indiana put more pressure on the Wolverines with good plate discipline and base running. With yet another four run inning, the Hoosiers put Michigan on the verge of a mercy rule.
And the Wolverines yet again were unable to respond. A leadoff bunt from senior designated player Indiana Langford was all the offense Michigan could manage in the fifth, with Indiana right hander Taylor Hess closing out a five inning performance with three consecutive outs against the top of the order.
Thanks to early firepower, the Hoosiers were able to set the tone for the game and clinch an invaluable series victory.
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