One of the ten Iowans who was pardoned by President Trump this week for actions during the January 6th, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol says he plans to join a massive lawsuit in response to his arrest.
Kenny Rader of Sioux City says it will be a $50-billion class-action case against the U.S. Department of Justice.
“I’m not gonna settle for anything under seven digits,” Rader says. “I want to be compensated because I went through some hell.”
Rader says he’s not surprised that he and more than 1,500 hundred other January 6th defendants were cleared of their crimes. He was sentenced to 90 days in prison, plus three years probation, after pleading guilty to illegally entering the Capitol.
“The pardon for me, it really didn’t change anything,” Rader says. “I’ve already served my time and my case is resolved, but to see all the other guys, you know, I stayed up pretty late watching them walk out in droves, and that’s what I was really happy for.”
Even before a presidential pardon, Rader claims he didn’t break the law on January 6th.
“I walked in, picked up some glass, and walked out,” he says. “So I was definitely, in my opinion, wrongfully charged and convicted and sent to prison for no crime.”
Some of the other Iowans pardoned by Trump include 44-year-old Doug Jensen of Des Moines, who was convicted of leading a mob through the Capitol, and Kyle Young of Redfield, who was accused of assaulting a police officer guarding the building.
(By Sheila Brummer, Iowa Public Radio)