Five years after a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, a 73-year-old woman once known as the "MAGA Granny" delivered a stunning public apology and renunciation of the movement she once followed. Pam Hemphill, who served a federal prison sentence for her role in the January 6, 2021, attack, testified before a House hearing on Tuesday, marking the somber anniversary of the insurrection.
From Believing Lies to Accepting Guilt
Hemphill, who traveled from Idaho to Washington, D.C., to hear then-President Donald Trump speak, told lawmakers she had been a victim of pervasive falsehoods. "I had fallen for the president's lies, just like many of his supporters," she stated. She described being welcomed into a circle where she heard alarming rhetoric about Democrats turning the country communist and the radical left destroying the Constitution. "The gaslighting caused a lot of fear, and I was scared," Hemphill recalled.
Believing Trump would lead a march, she followed the crowd to the Capitol. "As you know, Donald Trump never showed," she said. "But the rioters did. And the attack began." The violent attempt to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's election win resulted in five deaths and injuries to approximately 140 police officers.
A Rejected Pardon and an Apology to Heroes
Hemphill was one of over a thousand rioters convicted for their actions that day. In a remarkable act of conscience, she rejected a blanket pardon offered by Trump after he returned to the White House in January 2023. She explained her decision clearly: "Accepting that pardon would be lying about what happened on Jan. 6. I am guilty. And I own that guilt."
Holding back tears, Hemphill identified the true heroes of January 6: the Capitol Police. She recounted being trampled by fellow rioters and saved by officers. "The Capitol Police grabbed my arm... they pulled me up... another female officer came over and was helping me," she testified. "And she was so kind and so loving and here I am thinking, 'I'm one of the rioters.'" She directly apologized to officers in attendance for being part of the mob that endangered them.
A Call for Accountability and Truth
Hemphill's testimony stood in stark contrast to ongoing narratives that downplay the events of January 6. She expressed anger towards Trump and MAGA lawmakers who perpetuate falsehoods about the attack and the officers who defended democracy. "I cannot allow the Capitol officers to be lied about. How dare you," she declared.
She also referenced an as-yet unhung plaque intended to honor the police who defended the Capitol, vowing, "Until I can see that plaque get up there, I'm not done." Democratic lawmakers commended her bravery. Representative Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania thanked her for coming forward, saying, "I pray your humility is contagious. May it take over this country." Representative Becca Balint of Vermont noted Hemphill had shown "more bravery than so many of our colleagues who refuse to admit what happened on Jan. 6."
Hemphill's journey from a convicted rioter to a voice of remorse underscores the lasting personal and national reckoning stemming from the attack on the Capitol, a day she now describes as one of profound wrongdoing.
