NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Five years ago to the day, the world watched as Americans threatened to undercut democracy by violently storming our nation’s capital.
Much of those videos, images and court records once came from the very Department of Justice webpage filled with the names of more than 1,500 January 6 defendants.
That same webpage no longer exists.
Critics accuse President Donald Trump's administration of attempting to rewrite this tragic chapter in American history, but is it possible to completely ignore and forget what all of us have already seen and heard?
Democrats on the House Committee on the Judiciary released two reports ahead of the five-year anniversary, including one titled "Where are they now: The Perpetrators of January 6th and the Defenders of Democracy Who Stopped Them"
"They broke through police lines, invaded the Capitol, smashed windows, damaged property and chanted 'hang Mike Pence' as they hunted fleeing members of Congress...The law enforcement officers there that day saved the 2020 election and the Constitution by refusing to surrender to mob violence and political threats," the report read.
The report claims many officers who defended democracy that day were cast aside, fired or demoted. Career prosecutors who investigated attacks against law enforcement and brought charges were fired within days of Trump taking office for his second term.
Meanwhile, those the report calls "insurrectionists, co-conspirators, election deniers and cop-beaters" weren't just pardoned — some now serve at the highest ranks of the Department of Justice and the Trump administration.
One report cites findings from the nonprofit group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) that found at least 33 pardoned Jan. 6 defendants have since been charged, arrested or convicted of new crimes.
Thanks to NPR's database of video archives and court cases, the names of virtually every defendant remain accessible, including 35 Tennesseans.
Michael Timbrook of Cookeville still answers the phone with the same enthusiasm, ever since our interview back in 2023. That’s when he told us about what he saw that fateful day and why he ultimately pleaded guilty for unlawfully entering the Capitol.
Timbrook: “People ask me January 6 and I say, yeah, yeah, but inside I’m saying that was the best day ever. It was a great day. It was a huge day because I got to be there and take part and witness this outpouring of the American spirit.”
Levi: “Now there are some folks who would say that was the exact opposite of what you would consider the American spirit. There are some folks who would use the word traitor to describe some of the folks who were there. What do you think of that?”
Timbrook: “It was beautiful up to a point and then it broke down. I’m not going to try to defend that breakdown, but it happened.”
Timbrook was seen on camera walking between rooms and was later sentenced to 14 days in jail and 12 months of probation. Like many in their plea deals, he was forced to take responsibility for their actions.
It’s something Timbrook has done without hesitation as long as we’ve known him.
He says he’s now off social media and plans on spending more time with his family. Timbrook explained how, over the years, he and others began to realize that they may have been manipulated by certain media into thinking they were doing the right thing, but today, he doesn’t know who or what to believe.
Defendants like Bryan Ivey of Crossville, who also pleaded guilty to unlawfully entering the Capitol, went as far as telling the courts that he felt brainwashed by “certain politicians and irresponsible media” into believing that President Joe Biden’s victory had been rigged.
Ivey sent an 11-page memo to the courts apologizing for his actions and admitted that he, “now accepts the results of the 2020 presidential election and he promises the court that he will never again engage in illegal activity at the Capitol or anywhere else.”
At least 13 Tennesseans, however, were charged with violent crimes and assaulting officers.
Albuquerque Cosper Head of Kingsport, Joseph Padilla of Bradley County, and Ronald McAbee of Bedford County were all seen on camera forcing their way through police barricades. Some were seen swinging on officers and even posting on social media about the violence they planned to incite.
All were part of the same blanket pardon issued by President Trump.
They were called “patriots” and “political prisoners” for defending unproven claims that President Joe Biden stole the 2020 election, but just months earlier, the courts called some of these same people the worst of the worst.
Ultimately, at least 35 Tennessee defendants were either pardoned or, in the case of Lisa Eisenhart and her son Eric Munchel of Nashville, had their cases dismissed in court with prejudice. Meaning the same charges can’t be refiled against them.
Eisenhart shared a video online praising President Trump’s pardons moments before telling her son to cut off her ankle monitor.
It was never clear how defendants were supposed to know they had been pardoned. Timbrook said he’s never received a letter or notification of a pardon, but he says he’s made peace with his past and is ready to focus on his future.
Some like Timbrook have gone on to live quiet lives since 2021, while others, like Stewart Parks, have embraced the notoriety and even ran for Congress in Tennessee.
No matter where they are now, we know where they were five years ago, and it’s one chapter of American history we won’t soon forget.
