La Salle County man pardoned for Jan. 6 involvement

One of the Jan. 6 protesters pardoned on Monday is a La Salle County man who served part of an 18-month sentence.

Mathew W. Capsel, listed as an Ottawa resident at the time he was brought up on federal charges, had pleaded guilty in 2022 to one count of civil disorder in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C.

Capsel emailed a statement Tuesday afternoon:

“On Jan. 6 many good men did bad things for the love of their country. Do I have regrets on what happened that day? Yes. Jan. 6 should not have happened the way it did. We all know there were federal agents placed in the crowd hyping people up and the fact that people went to prison for as much as 25 years is ridiculous. Trump is bringing in the new golden age and the truth will come out with the corrupt agencies. We will make America great again.”

On his Facebook page, Capsel told followers he was among those pardoned. He also posted screen shots of text messages from his attorney advising him what was to come.

“Your supervised release will end,” the attorney advised Capsel, according to posted excerpts. “You’ll get a certificate in the mail at some point pardoning you. And you will no longer have a conviction on your record. That’s about all I know now.”

Capsel was initially charged with three felonies on Jan. 19, 2021, less than two weeks after protesters stormed the U.S. Capitol. He was later apprehended in Southern Illinois.

At sentencing, Capsel’s lawyer asked for leniency and said Capsel wielded no weapon, arrived with no protective gear (he was handed eye protection after arrival) and the contact with the National Guard was limited to touching a protective shield with his shoulder for seven seconds or less.