A man previously imprisoned for his role in the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol has been sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted of burglary in Virginia months after receiving a presidential pardon.
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Zachary Alam, 34, had served nearly four years of an eight-year sentence for his part in the Capitol riot before he was granted clemency by President Donald Trump in January 2025, on the first day of Trump’s second term in office.
A jury later found Alam guilty of breaking into an occupied home outside Richmond in May 2025 and stealing electronics and jewellery.
Break-in near Richmond
Authorities in Henrico County said Alam entered the house on 8 May 2025. When confronted by the family living there, prosecutors said he told them he was there to repair their internet service before leaving the property with stolen items.
Police responding to the burglary located Alam in a nearby neighbourhood and identified him as the suspect. He was arrested the following day.
In October, a Henrico jury convicted him of breaking and entering an occupied dwelling and grand larceny.
On Thursday, Circuit Court Judge Randall G. Johnson imposed two 20-year prison sentences, one for each conviction. However, the judge suspended the entire sentence for grand larceny and all but seven years of the breaking and entering sentence.
Alam will also be required to serve 20 years of probation for each conviction once released from prison.
Previous role in Capitol attack
Before his pardon, Alam had received one of the longest prison sentences given to participants in the Capitol attack. A federal court sentenced him to eight years in prison after he was convicted of eight felony counts, including assaulting law enforcement officers, and three misdemeanours.
During that case, the judge described Alam as “by far the loudest, the most combative and the most violent of the rioters” present during the assault on the Capitol building.
Prosecutors said Alam was among the first individuals in a crowd that entered the building from the west lawn and that he threw objects at police officers from a balcony.
Evidence at trial showed he used a helmet to smash glass panels in a door leading toward the House chamber. Witnesses said the opening he created allowed rioter Ashli Babbitt to attempt to climb through moments before she was shot and killed by a police officer guarding the chamber.
After the shooting, prosecutors said Alam urged others to return later with firearms before leaving the building.
The Trump administration later reached a $5m settlement with Babbitt’s family to resolve a wrongful death lawsuit.
Prosecutors cite impact of pardon
Local broadcaster WRIC reported that prosecutors presented a recorded telephone call in which Alam said he believed he had done “the right thing” during the Capitol attack.
He had expressed similar views at his federal sentencing hearing, saying he believed his actions that day were justified.
Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor said in a statement that the presidential pardon may have encouraged Alam to believe he was not bound by the law. However, she noted that the federal clemency did not affect state charges brought in Virginia.
Alam’s arrest in Henrico County is believed to be the first time a pardoned Capitol attack participant has been charged and sentenced for a new crime following the mass clemency issued in January 2025.
Authorities say several other individuals who were pardoned for offences linked to the Capitol attack have since been arrested on unrelated charges.
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Adapted by ASEAN Now. Source 11 May 2026
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