A North Carolina man who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers on January 6 could have his latest child pornography charges thrown out in the wake of fresh pardonings from Trump.
David Paul Daniel, 37, of Mint Hill, North Carolina, pleaded guilty on January 8, 2025, to the felony offense of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, during the Capitol Hill riots, according to the Department of Justice – but months earlier, he was arrested on child pornography charges.
Now, as Trump lifts the criminal convictions on those who participated in the violent riots, Daniel could see his federal child sex abuse charges waivered in tandem with the pardoning of his January 6 assault charges.
During a frantic search of his home in November 2023, following the January 6 assault charges, FBI and Mint Hill police officers recovered his iPhone and multiple other electronic devices which allegedly held child sex abuse images of Daniel and a female minor, younger than 12, taken between 2015 and 2019, according to federal court documents seen by Queen City News.
According to the affidavit, seen by the outlet, these images corroborated a statement taken from the minor during a forensic interview who alleged she had been sexually abused by Daniel.
The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office had reportedly opened a statutory rape investigation in March 2023 and police observed images of child sex abuse relating to a second minor.
Daniel was arrested for the possession of child pornography, sexual exploitation of a minor related to sexual assault, and the trafficking of child pornography on September 20, 2024, according to Queen City News.
It is unclear how many children he is alleged to have abused. But Daniel pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to court records seen by WBTV in October 2024.
According to the DOJ, more than 1,583 individuals had been charged in almost all 50 states for crimes relating to the Capitol riots since the attack which included more than 600 individuals charged with the felony offense of assaulting or impeding law enforcement officials.
Since taking office last Monday, Trump has pardoned approximately 1,500 of his supporters who were involved on January 6 and commuted the sentences of another 14.
Daniel was scheduled to be sentenced for his assault charges on May 5, 2025, but now, this appears to have been squashed in the wake of Trump 2.0.
The Independent contacted the Department of Justice, the FBI, Mint Hill police, and the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
