By Allie Griffin | New York Post
Two brothers convicted in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack became the first of the rioters to be freed late Monday after President Trump issued Day 1 pardons to hundreds of the participants.
Andrew and Matthew Valentin, from Stroudsburg, Pa., were released from the Central Detention Facility in Washington, DC, just before midnight, Trump administration officials announced outside the jail — adding that Elon Musk was “the mastermind” behind their sudden freedom.
“The first two January 6 defendants have been released. This is a few hours after President Trump signed his historic pardon,” the White House liaison to the Justice Department, Paul Ingrassia, told reporters, calling the pardon a “monumental moment in our history.”
“This injustice is ending in America tonight and this dark chapter in our country’s history is coming to an end,” Ingrassia added.
Trump, 78, said he issued “approximately 1,500 pardons” at the White House in between inaugural festivities on Monday.