President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office...

President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday. Credit: AP / Evan Vucci

On Jan. 6, 2021, Long Island-based DJ Greg Rubenacker swung a plastic bottle at an officer's head while standing in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, where he also recorded himself smoking marijuana, prosecutors have said.

Rubenacker, then 26, of Farmingdale, who was sentenced to 41 months in prison for his conduct that day, was one of more than 1,000 Jan. 6 defendants who were pardoned Monday by President Donald Trump — hours after he was sworn in for a second term.

"Mr. Rubenacker was obviously very excited when he heard the news and now he's just hoping he can put this behind him and move on with his life," said Michaelangelo Matera, his Melville-based defense attorney. "He is very grateful to the president for giving him the opportunity to get his life on track."

Several Long Islanders were included in Trump's mass pardon of the mob that launched an insurrection at the Capitol in an attempt, according to federal prosecutors, to disrupt the certification of the 2020 election, which was won by former President Joe Biden.

Peter Moloney, of Bayport, leaves federal court in Central Islip...

Peter Moloney, of Bayport, leaves federal court in Central Islip on June 7, 2023. Credit: James Carbone

While Rubenacker had already served his prison sentence, other defendants, like Peter Moloney, a former co-owner of the Suffolk County-based Moloney Family Funeral Homes, who pleaded guilty to assault charges for physically attacking police officers and two people he believed were members of the media, were scheduled to be sentenced next month.

In light of Trump's Monday night proclamation, which directed the attorney general to "pursue dismissal with prejudice to the government of all pending indictments against individuals for their conduct related to the events at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021," Moloney's sentencing is on track to be officially canceled by a federal judge.

"The government has filed a motion to dismiss his case pursuant to President Trump's executive order," Moloney's attorney Philip Branigan, of Holbrook, said in an email Tuesday. "We await the Court's decision."

Those Jan. 6 defendants whose cases had not been fully adjudicated will see the indictments dismissed. But the vast majority of those who received pardons will still have a criminal record. The pardon restores voting and gun ownership rights that were stripped away with a criminal conviction.

Another 14 Jan. 6 defendants on Monday saw their sentences commuted with a stroke of Trump's pen.

Trump had long vowed to pardon the rioters — supporters of Trump and his false assertion that he won the 2020 election and it was stolen from him through massive voter fraud — calling them political prisoners and hostages.

The Associated Press reported that all of the more than 200 Jan. 6 federal prisoners were released by Tuesday morning.

But Matera, the attorney for one of the Long Island defendants, said he is on a group chat with all of the other Jan. 6 lawyers and there's been a lot of frustration with how the slow-moving bureaucracy has moved to release the pardoned inmates from the custody of the Bureau of Prisons.

"It seems that some wardens were ready to go but others were not," said Matera. "They wanted something in writing from the U.S. attorney's office. Apparently [the Bureau of Prisons] called in emergency staff" to effectuate the releases.

Kevin Moore, 61, right, and Carol Moore, 57, of Massapequa, were...

Kevin Moore, 61, right, and Carol Moore, 57, of Massapequa, were arrested by the FBI in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. Credit: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York

For Massapequa couple Kevin Moore, 65, and Carol Moore, 61, who were charged with misdemeanor charges of remaining in a restricted government building and disorderly conduct in the Capitol, the pardon brought great relief, their attorneys said Tuesday.

The Moores were two of 11 Jan. 6 defendants who were cleared by a federal judge to travel to Washington for Trump's inaugural festivities Monday.

“[Carol] and Kevin Moore were arrested at gun point in early 2024 in front of their home in Massapequa. Their crime? Video showed them walking into the Capitol Building on January 6 singing God Bless America and walking out 8 minutes later," attorneys John Carman and Susan Carman, who represent Kevin and Carol Moore respectively, said in a statement. "The President’s decision to correct this grave injustice has left the Moore’s relieved and deeply grateful that the nightmare is over."

Eric Gerwatowski, of New Hyde Park, leaves federal court in Central...

Eric Gerwatowski, of New Hyde Park, leaves federal court in Central Islip on Feb. 8, 2022. Credit: James Carbone

But some still blame Trump himself for the attack on the Capitol, saying he incited the rioters, including Garden City-based attorney Bruce Barket, who represented one of the Jan. 6 defendants.

"There was no violence associated with my client," said Barket, of his client Eric Gerwatowski, of New Hyde Park.

Gerwatowski was sentenced to 2 years probation, 30 days of home detention and ordered to pay $2,000 to the Architect of the Capitol for damages incurred after he pleaded guilty to his role, prosecutors said.

Gerwatowski pulled open a door to the Capitol and yelled to other rioters "Let's go!" according to prosecutors.

"My client actually deserved a pardon and it was fitting that it actually was from Trump," said Barket. "There is some poetic justice in the fact that Trump was never prosecuted for this and people like my client were."

Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV Credit: Newsday

Romantic spas in the winter ... What's up on LI ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV

Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV Credit: Newsday

Romantic spas in the winter ... What's up on LI ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV

FLASH SALE

$1 FOR ONE YEAR

Unlimited Digital Access

SUBSCRIBE NOW >>Cancel anytime - new subscribers only