Pam Hemphill denies being a victim and does not want to be included in the presidential pardon.
IDAHO, USA — The day before she drove herself to California, to begin her federal prison sentence, Pam Hemphill admitted she believed the big lie.
“I did. I went along with everything I’m hearing,” Hemphill said. “Yeah, I paid a big price for this.”
Hemphill spent two months in the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, for taking part in the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021.
The 71 year-old said she was able to lower her sentence because she agreed to a plea deal. She signed off on one misdemeanor count of demonstrating, parading, or picketing inside the U.S. Capitol building.
Hemphill was a “J-Sixer,” a core believer that Joe Biden stole the 2020 Presidential Election. Which is why she was part of the hundred who stormed the U.S. Capitol Building. According to prosecutors, she “repeatedly turned to police for help while simultaneously undermining their efforts.”
In May of 2022, she was sentenced to 60 days in prison, three years probation, and a $500 fine.
That summer Hemphill became known as the “MAGA Granny.” In many people’s eyes, she was simply a cancer patient who was wrongfully incarcerated in a California women’s prison and housed with cartel members and convicted murderers.
However, that’s not the story Hemphill wants attached to her.
She denied her victimhood when KTVB spoke with her nearly two years ago. She has denied it in countless national and international interviews since, and she denies it today. While she was included in the 1,500 plus Jan. 6 pardons issued by President Trump on Monday, Hemphill does not want to be.
She describes her time in prison as a nightmare.
“I’m claustrophobic. Thank God the doors aren’t locked, but you can’t go out,” she said. “You just learn to do it five minutes at a time, ten minutes at a time. You focus on watching TV all day. That’s all I did.”
At the time, Hemphill admitted had her guilt and resigned herself to her punishment.
“I broke the law. It’s just that simple,” she said. “I had a choice. I’m not a victim; I could have left. ‘No,’ I thought, ‘I’m going to stay there and videotape.’”
Federal Prosecutors said Hemphill did much more than videotape.
With her phone camera recording for most of the morning and into the afternoon that day, she followed the crowd from the Trump rally in Ellipse Park to the Capitol. She believed they were going to be allowed through the barricades.
Hemphill, who was recovering from a recent surgery, says she struggled to keep up with the crowd and she was getting forced against the fence.
“An officer pulls me over, and I thought, ‘Ok, he’s letting me in first.’ So, I go around, and oh my gosh, this is the worst part,” she remembers. “I was saying (to the others still outside the fence), ‘Come on, what are you doing? It’s our house,” she said. “What are you doing? Just get in here. It’s your house.”
She says she was directed back outside the barrier. But the crowd did not take long to follow her suggestion. Hemphill said she was swept along by the crowd who broke through the fence and the officers and made their way to the Capitol Building.
“When I got to the steps, they knocked me down, stepped on my head, pulled out my shoulder, broke my glasses, I was not breathing,” Hemphill said. “If it wasn’t for the Capitol Police Officers, I wouldn’t be here ’cause I couldn’t breathe. They pulled me up and put me behind them.”
The turning point for Hemphill came weeks later, as she learned how much of the “Stop the Steal” movement was based on lies.
“They’re lying about everything. (They) said the doors were opened by the officers, and they were not,” she said. “Everything starts with Trump saying the election was stolen. That’s where it all started. It wasn’t stolen.”
On Monday, she learned she had been issued a pardon.
“I’m not going to take it. I gotta do some research on who to contact to refuse it,” she said. “If I took a pardon, then what I did that day was ok. It wasn’t.
“I’m not going to be a part of them trying to rewrite history,” she added. “That what they did that day was ok. I broke the law, I pay the price.”
Since before and after her time in prison Hemphill has spoken out about her mistakes on January 6.
“It’s my amends for every being there that day,” she said. “The least I could do compared to what the Capitol Police Officers went through that day. Oh my god. They still haven’t put up that plaque for them.”
She would like to see that plaque put up. She said she hopes to meet them, hug them, and apologize.
“I’m so sorry I was ever there that day, that I was a part of that garbage,” Hemphill said. “I’ve gotta live the rest of my life knowing I was there, a part of it, you know, cheering it on. That’s why I gotta speak out, be vulnerable. Death threats, whatever, I have to feel that I’ve done the best that I can to let others know that whatever happened that day was wrong.”
She said that now she knows it was an insurrection and called the rioters criminals, and she is hoping that her voice will make a difference.
“It’s the right thing to do to let people know that I was wrong that day and we all were wrong that day,” Hemphill said.
Hemphill says she is currently cancer-free and plans to complete the eight months she has left of her probation.
She does worry these pardons will open the door to a new definition of “a peaceful protest.”
Since her release from prison in September of 2022, Hemphill has been very vocal about distancing herself from the tragic events of January 6 and criticizing other “J-Sixers” for not doing the same.
She admits that has garnered her a great deal of harassment and even death threats. She says has lost friends, family members and MAGA faithful over her stance.
But she’s not worried about those things and it’s not going to stop her from speaking out.
In a statement released to the media, the woman, who has chosen to remain anonymous, declared, “I will not be a part of them trying to rewrite history. I made a mistake that day, and I take full responsibility for my actions. I do not deserve a pardon for what I did.”
The woman went on to express regret for her role in the riots and urged others who participated to do the same. She emphasized the importance of accountability and reconciliation in order to heal the deep divisions that have torn the country apart.
As the nation continues to grapple with the aftermath of the Capitol riots, this woman’s refusal to accept a pardon serves as a powerful reminder of the need for individuals to take responsibility for their actions and work towards building a more just and inclusive society.
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