A Virginia man pardoned by President Donald Trump after assaulting police officers and smashing windows during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol is back behind bars after allegedly burglarizing a home.
Zachary Jordan Alam was released from prison less than four months ago while serving an eight-year federal sentence. The Henrico County Police Division said in a statement that he was arrested on May 9 after breaking into a home outside Richmond and stealing several items.
Alam, 33, allegedly broke in through a back door around 8:30 p.m. and fled after being confronted by the home’s residents. He was taken into custody by police in a nearby neighborhood, authorities said.
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Alam had been serving a 96-month prison sentence, followed by 36 months of supervised release, when granted clemency by Trump on Jan. 20, 2025, for participating in the violence. He was one of more than 1,500 participants pardoned.
Alam, who online records show already has a lengthy criminal record — with past arrests for residential burglary, grand larceny, assault, disorderly conduct, and vandalism — pleaded not guilty to his charges and expressed no remorse for his actions, telling the judge at the time that he “believed in my heart I was doing the right thing. Sometimes you have to break the rules to do what’s right.”
He also told the court that he deserved a pardon from Trump, who had been reelected just days before his 2024 sentencing, saying he wants “a full pardon with all the benefits that come with it, including full compensation.”
He added, “I will not accept a second-class pardon.”
The judge, citing his lack of remorse, handed him one of the longest Jan. 6-related sentences while calling him one of the “most violent and aggressive” rioters.
Attempts by HuffPost to reach Alam’s attorney for comment on Tuesday were not immediately successful.
Alam is one of several so-called “J6ers” who have been arrested on separate charges since being pardoned by Trump earlier this year.
Days after his presidential pardon, convicted rioter Andrew Taake, 36, of Texas, was taken back into custody in February over an outstanding warrant he had for allegedly soliciting a minor online in 2016. Prior to Trump’s pardon, Taake had been serving a 74-month sentence after admitting to attacking officers with a metal whip and bear spray during the 2021 attack.
Several rioters accused of committing crimes after the 2021 attack ended up having those charges dropped; however, after it was successfully argued that those crimes wouldn’t have been discovered if not for authorities investigating their involvement in the Capitol riot, an offense for which they were ultimately pardoned.
These individuals included Dan Edwin Wilson, who authorities said was found possessing multiple guns during a 2022 search of his Kentucky home, despite having multiple felony convictions.
Fellow rioter Guy Reffitt of Texas also had a gun charge tossed after it was similarly argued that his illegal silencer wouldn’t have been found if not for a federal search warrant.
Daniel Charles Ball of Florida was also arrested for illegal weapons possession in January, though that charge was ultimately tossed after it was argued that the firearms and ammunition found in his possession in 2023 were only discovered because of his Jan. 6 case.
