Judge orders full refunds for two pardoned Jan. 6 defendants after convictions vacated

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the government to fully refund restitution payments and fines paid by two people convicted of misdemeanor charges tied to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol after President Donald Trump pardoned them and an appeals court vacated their convictions.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, in a memorandum order, reversed his own July ruling that had denied refunds to Cynthia Ballenger and Christopher Price, a married couple who had each paid $570 in assessments and restitution.

The shift stemmed from a U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decision that vacated the couple’s convictions because Trump issued the pardons while their appeals were pending, effectively mooting the cases.

“Having viewed the question afresh, the court now agrees with the defendants,” Boasberg wrote.

The judge emphasized that while a pardon by itself does not entitle recipients to the return of fines or restitution, the vacatur of a conviction “wipes the slate clean” and requires the government to return money collected because of the now-nullified judgment.

“Because the court could order defendants to pay assessments and restitution, it can order those payments reversed,” Boasberg wrote. “Those are two sides of the same action, and sovereign immunity does not stand in the way.”

Trump, upon returning to office this year, issued pardons to approximately 1,500 people charged or convicted in connection with the Jan. 6 riot.

Boasberg’s order clears the way for Ballenger and Price to receive full refunds. The ruling could set precedent for other pardoned Jan. 6 defendants whose convictions were vacated on appeal.