The latest rejection came from U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who declined to reimburse $570 to Texas resident Stacy Hager, 61. Hager had pleaded guilty to four misdemeanors related to the Capitol riot and had paid fines and restitution before receiving a presidential pardon.
According to Law & Crime, Hager had publicly boasted about his role in the 2021 Capitol breach on Facebook, sharing photos and videos of himself inside the building. Despite a pardon and the Justice Department’s support for reimbursement, Judge Chutkan ruled against the request, citing legal precedent and similar recent denials.
“At least three other judges in this district have denied similar motions,” Chutkan wrote in her decision. She emphasized that a pardon does not entitle a person to recover money already paid to third parties or the government, referencing the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1877 decision in Knote v. United States. The court held that pardons are “acts of grace” and do not restore “rights or property once vested in others as a result of conviction and judgment.”
Chutkan’s ruling follows three others issued in Washington, D.C., by Judges James Boasberg, Royce Lamberth, and Randolph Moss. In those cases, pardoned individuals—including a Maryland couple, a former U.S. Marine from New Jersey, and Utah defendant John Sullivan—also sought restitution refunds, all of which were denied.
Although the Justice Department supported Hager’s request, calling his case “unusual,” Chutkan disagreed. Federal prosecutors argued that because Hager’s conviction was vacated on appeal, the legal foundation for the restitution had been nullified. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Dreher wrote that “there is no longer any basis justifying the government’s retaining funds exacted only as a result of that conviction.”
But Chutkan ruled that even in such cases, existing law prevents the court from ordering a refund unless Congress explicitly authorizes it. “This court does not possess the authority to instruct the Architect of the Capitol to reimburse Hager’s $570,” she concluded.
Hager is one of more than 1,500 individuals who received pardons after Trump began his second term in January. His legal team filed the motion for reimbursement in February.
Trump’s mass pardons of January 6 participants have sparked political controversy. Democrats argue they undermine accountability, while Republicans counter that the Biden Justice Department pursued harsh penalties for misdemeanor offenses. Some January 6 defendants have remained in jail for extended periods without trial or bail.
Despite growing pressure from some Trump allies, courts have consistently ruled that presidential pardons do not automatically entitle recipients to financial reimbursement for court-ordered penalties already paid.