Two men from Fort Wayne were among those pardoned by President Trump on January 6

Fort Wayne, Indiana – President Donald Trump earlier this week announced mass pardons for two Fort Wayne men, dismissing charges linked to the events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

On September 11, 2024, Ryan Holden, 39, and Blake Patterson, 40, were taken into custody and charged with four crimes in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The two were among almost 1,000 people who were charged with or found guilty of insurgency-related offenses.

After receiving cell phone images from someone, the FBI started looking into the two individuals on February 6, 2021. The man in the selfie-style pictures was recognized by that anonymous person as Blake Patterson, and the image seemed to have been taken within the Capitol.

According to an interview with the sender, Blake Patterson and his friend Ryan Holden had visited Washington, D.C.

A motorcycle jacket bearing the word “alpha,” which Patterson was also spotted wearing, and a black helmet similar to the one he was photographed wearing at the Capitol were discovered when a search warrant was executed at Patterson’s Fort Wayne residence on November 15, 2021.

Using footage captured by closed-circuit television in the Capitol, the FBI was able to identify Holden and Patterson. Patterson was at the Capitol when the uprising occurred, according to mobile phone records the agency also examined.

The FBI concluded that both men spent around 36 minutes inside the Capitol building and even more time on the Capitol grounds. Both Patterson and Holden were constantly requested to leave the building during that period.

The following accusations had been made against them:

• Entering or remaining in restricted buildings or grounds
• Disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds
• Disorderly conduct on Capitol Building and Grounds
• Parading or demonstrating on Capitol Building and Grounds