President Trump pardoned two Alaska auto shop owners who pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act onstage at a political rally in the state on Tuesday night, an unusual public use of the president’s pardon power.
The president said the two men — Zachary Chubbuck and Patrick Fleming — were “falsely accused,” and cited the charges against them as an example of how the Biden-era Justice Department is “viciously targeting the Alaskan way of life.”
According to court records, Chubak, Fleming and a third man, Michael Hanczuk, owned an auto shop called Arm Rippin Toys that specialized in diesel vehicles. Federal prosecutors said they offered to remove emissions control systems from customers’ vehicles for fees ranging from $1,140 to $5,445, in part by modifying their physical components and preventing diagnostic systems from detecting problems that would cause the vehicles to spew more pollutants.
All three men pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the 2022 Clean Air Act. They were each sentenced to five years of probation, a $66,000 fine and community service.
At a pre-midterm election rally in Wasilla on Tuesday, Trump called Zubac and Fleming to the stage and told aides, “Give me the pardon!”
“Think about it: They want to put them in jail for 10 years because they repaired an engine. How disgusting is that?” the president said. “Now, if you murder someone, no problem. Unless it’s a Republican murder. Then, you know, that’s the electric chair, right?”
Trump signed the pardons at the podium and handed them to Chubbuck and Fleming, drawing cheers from the rally audience when the president handed one of the pardons to the crowd.
The president said he was still “taking care of” the third person. He did not name the other person, but Hanzuk, a third co-owner of Arm Rippin Toys, received a pardon last month.
“When you grant someone a pardon, they say it means, I don’t know how that works or why that’s an expression, but it’s used well, it means you’re as clean as a newborn baby’s butt,” the president said. “I never understood it. Why so clean?”
Chubbuck and Fleming spoke briefly to the crowd, with Fleming saying the charges against the three “really devastate us.”
“We are not criminals. We don’t want to hurt anyone,” he said. “We want to help Alaskans. We want to help people around the world who own diesel trucks and vehicles.”
CBS News has reached out to attorneys for Zubac, Fleming and Hanczuk for comment.
Earlier this year, Mr. Trump grants pardon Another diesel mechanic, Mac Spurlock, was also charged with violating the Clean Air Act by dismantling a pollution control system — a case the president mentioned at Tuesday’s rally.
Spurlock and his supporters, including Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, argued that the engine modifications he made were necessary to prevent emissions systems from failing due to Alaska’s freezing weather.
Sullivan applauded Spurlock’s pardon in July, calling the charges the work of “overzealous federal prosecutors” and arguing that Environmental Protection Agency rules should be changed to account for cold-weather states. Tuesday’s rally was held in part to help Sullivan fend off a challenge from Democratic candidate Mary Pertola.
The Justice Department announced in January that it would “no longer pursue criminal charges under the Clean Air Act” over allegations of tampering with airborne diagnostic equipment.
Under the Biden administration, officials have taken a different tack, warning in a statement about the Arm Rippin Toys allegations that removing emissions controls “from even a single vehicle would lead to a significant increase in air pollution.” Scott Adair, the former special agent in charge of the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division in Alaska, vowed to “hold accountable those who endanger human health and the environment for profit.”
Mr. Trump and members of his administration Have complained Other environmental regulations, relaxed fuel economy standards and end A policy of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that provides credits to automakers for installing stop-start emissions systems.
The president also frequently used his power of pardon Grant clemency to political allies and people like him who believe they were wrongly prosecuted.