Trump commutes sentence for Phoenix man in Jan. 6 riot

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Shortly after his inauguration Monday, President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of a Phoenix man who was part of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Edward Vallejo was one of 14 people who had their sentences commuted through one of Trump’s executive orders that he signed in his first few hours as president.

Vallejo was sentenced to three years in prison followed by one year of home confinement for his role in the violence and is currently in a halfway house in the Phoenix area, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

He was expected to be released in March.

Vallejo was arguably one of Arizona’s highest profile Jan. 6 cases because he was convicted of seditious conspiracy, the most serious charge the Justice Department has brought in the U.S. Capitol attack, and several other charges.

Investigators said he was a member of the Oath Keepers, a far-right group, and was in charge of the “quick reaction force,” where he stockpiled weapons at a Virginia hotel.

The weapons were never used.

Prosecutors said Vallejo talked about a “guerrilla war” if Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory was certified, but his defense team argued he was a minor figure in the plot.

He was convicted in January 2023 and sentenced to 36 months in prison on June 1, 2023.

Vallejo’s sentence began in August 2023.

He also had 36 months of supervised release, with the first 12 months on home confinement.

The other two high-profile Arizona cases are Baked Alaska, whose real name is Anthime Gionet, and Jacob Chansley, who was called the QAnon Shaman who wore a fur hat and was shirtless during the Jan. 6 riot.

Gionet received two months of imprisonment, while Chansley was sentenced to 41 months in prison.

They have already served their prison terms and are two of the roughly 1,500 people Trump pardoned as part of his executive order.

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