Judge Boasberg Reverses, Orders Refunds for Trump-Pardoned Jan. 6 Defendants

In a surprising legal reversal, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled Wednesday that two January 6 defendants pardoned by President Donald Trump must be refunded in full for the restitution and fines paid as part of their original convictions a significant win for Trump allies and a major shift from the judge’s previous stance just months earlier.

The ruling applies to Cynthia Ballenger and Christopher Price, a married couple who were convicted on misdemeanor charges in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol protest. They were ordered to pay $570 each in restitution and fees. That money, Boasberg now says, must be returned.

“When a conviction is vacated, the government must return any payments exacted because of it,” Boasberg wrote in the memo order. “In plain English, vacatur unlike a pardon ‘wholly nullifies’ the vacated order and ‘wipes the slate clean.’”

The reversal stems from two key developments:

1. President Trump’s sweeping pardon of roughly 1,500 January 6 defendants earlier this year after returning to office.

2. The fact that Ballenger and Price were still appealing their convictions when the pardon was granted which caused the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate their convictions entirely.

While Boasberg originally argued that a presidential pardon alone did not entitle the defendants to refunds, he now acknowledges that the vacated convictions themselves trigger the right to repayment. His ruling affirms that if the court had the power to order restitution, it also holds the power to reverse those payments when the legal basis for them is wiped out.

“Those are two sides of the same action, and sovereign immunity does not stand in the way,” Boasberg wrote, addressing potential objections that the federal government can’t be sued without consent.

The ruling marks a significant moment in the legal aftermath of January 6, and could pave the way for more defendants particularly those who were pardoned mid-appeal to request full financial restitution.

Critics of the pardons, especially on the Left, are already sounding alarms. Earlier this year, late House Oversight Committee Democrat Rep. Gerald Connolly slammed the pardons, arguing they let Jan. 6 participants “off the hook” for an alleged $2.7 billion in damages a figure that remains deeply disputed.

But for constitutional conservatives, the Boasberg ruling affirms a basic principle: when a conviction is vacated, the penalties must be undone period.

It also marks a rare admission from a judge who has often ruled against Trump-aligned actions.

“Having viewed the question afresh, the court now agrees with the defendants,” Boasberg conceded in his order.

With President Trump back in the White House and January 6 narratives collapsing under legal scrutiny, this ruling could be the first domino in a broader reckoning over how the government handled those prosecutions and the price some Americans paid for participating in what many still view as a protest gone awry, not an insurrection.

Share this article if you support due process and justice for all and subscribe to our newsletter now for the latest updates as the courts continue to revisit Jan. 6.