U.S. District Judge John Bates confessed that his hands are tied after President Donald Trump pardoned everyone involved in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
On Thursday, the judge authorized a $2,200 refund to a Jan. 6 attacker who had her felony conviction dropped after receiving a pardon, according to Politico legal reporter Kyle Cheney.
Yvonne St. Cyr had appealed her conviction when the pardon came through. So, she was entitled to a return of the restitution she was ordered to pay.
“Sometimes a judge is called upon to do what the law requires, even if it may seem at odds with what justice or one’s initial instincts might warrant,” said Bates, who was appointed by George W. Bush. “This is one such occasion.”
Cyr has been unapologetic, telling Bates at her sentencing that she still believed she "did the right thing" while she egged on other rioters as they beat police near her.
“Upon vacating St Cyr’s conviction, the D.C. Circuit [Court of Appeals] did not determine that St Cyr is innocent of the crimes for which she was convicted. Nor has this Court done so,” Bates continued. “But, because of the vacatur and subsequent dismissal, the law presumes that she is innocent. As a result, the government has no right to retain St Cyr’s $2,270, which the law deems always hers.”
Cyr is the first of the Jan. 6 attackers to have the funds returned.