The pledge from former President Donald Trump during his campaign days to release and grant pardon to individuals implicated in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol has influenced no fewer than 15 defendants originally from Oklahoma. Citizen of Bixby, Oklahoma, Casey Cusick expressed immense exhilaration and excitement upon hearing the news of Trump sanctioning an executive order on a preceding Monday, exonerating approximately 1,500 individuals charged in relation to the U.S. Capitol assault. Casey himself served a ten-day sentence later that year.
Among those affected by Trump’s executive order were a couple of Oklahomans who either stood convicted or had admitted their guilt related to the U.S. Capitol insurrection. They were either undergoing their prison terms, incarcerated in jail, or awaiting their sentencing when they were freed by the executive order issued by Trump.
Benjamin Scott Burlew, a resident of Miami, Oklahoma, is one such convicted individual who was freed from custody on the same Monday, the day when he had a sentencing hearing hanging over his head. Before his jail term began on May 20, Burlew had enjoyed the liberty of being released on his own undertaking since the moment he was implicated by a federal grand jury on October 27, 2021.
This grand jury issued an indictment of eight charges against him, which included an alleged assault on a law enforcement officer, creating a ruckus and disorderliness in a protected area, and assaulting a separate individual. Burlew admitted guilt for two charges associated with the assault on the police officer, though he later attempted to retract his confession.
Subsequently, he changed his stance regarding the plea bargain and stopped pursuing the retraction of his admission of guilt. His case was slated for a hearing on the upcoming Wednesday, with the government’s attorneys pushing for a 51-month jail term. However, the case was officially wrapped up on Tuesday itself, upon receiving requests for dismissal from both the prosecution and defense.
Another defendant who was pardoned was Dova Winegeart of Afton. She was serving a four-month jail term handed down to her in December, post a conviction by a judge for attempting destruction of state property.
Among other Oklahoma-linked people whose impending cases were concluded on Tuesday was Matthew Allen, a 44 year-old from Castle, in Okfuskee County. Following his guilt admission in October on two minor counts – creating a disorder and being disruptive on the premises of a Capitol building or land, and holding a parade, demonstration, or picket in a Capitol edifice – Allen was due to be sentenced on January 31. The attorneys were seeking a 30-day jail term for Allen’s disorderly count and three years of probation for the parading charge.
Other cases on the brink of being shelved included Leslie Bogue from Marlow. Bogue, along with a friend from Texas, faced charges in September for four misdemeanors of a non-violent nature as a result of their alleged involvement in the Capitol uproar.
Another case that was yet to be concluded involved that of Darrin Bradley. Arrested on August 24 in Oklahoma City on the same four minor counts as many others, Bradley’s charges were waived off by the prosecutors on Tuesday, justifying this action based on Trump’s executive order.
The same dismissal was also sought in the case of David Davis. Davis, listed as a Texas resident at the time, had been detained in 2023 in Oklahoma City due to a five-count primary indictment. Convicted on three out of these five counts on January 8th following a trial by judge, his case, too, was moved towards closure by the federal attorneys on Tuesday, in line with Trump’s executive order.
There were additional individuals originally from Oklahoma whose cases had been previously resolved: Danielle Doyle, an ex-employee of the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team, who received a two-month probation period after admitting guilt; Andrew Ericson from Muskogee, who was sentenced to 20 days of incarceration and two years of probation post his guilt admission; and Levi Gable of Chouteau, who was granted two years of probation after pleading guilty to home invasion and remaining in a limited-access building or premises.
Three other Oklahoma natives also had their legal battles concluded before the advent of the executive order: Anthony Griffith Sr. from Fort Gibson, sentenced to a six-month prison term in 2023 after being deemed guilty on four of the five minor counts; Tricia LaCount of Tulsa, granted a probation period of three years following an admission of guilt to a count of infiltrating and remaining in a protected facility or property; and Jerry Ryals of Tahlequah, who served a nine-month prison term after pleading guilty in 2021 to serious civil unrest.
Lastly, Tanner Sells of Chandler, who received a two-year probation period upon pleading guilty to one count of parading, demonstrating or picketing within a Capitol building and Edward T. Spain Jr. from Chelsea, given a three-year probation term after pleading guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing inside a Capitol building, are other notable names among the Oklahomans whose cases had been resolved.