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Pamela Hemphill is an American convicted criminal who took part in the United States Capitol attack on January 6, 2021. She was nicknamed the "MAGA Granny" by social media users following the attack.

She was sentenced in 2022 to 60 days in prison with 36 months of probation and $500 restitution for one count of demonstrating, picketing or parading in a Capitol building, to which she had pleaded guilty. Hemphill is noted for changing her mind on Trump during her time in prison and afterward, as well as for her stated refusal of a future presidential pardon.

Before the attack

Hemphill is a retired substance abuse counselor. She voted in the 2008 election for Barack Obama, the only time she had voted for a Democrat prior to the attack; she has stated that she usually voted for whoever her mostly Republican-supporting family recommended. She voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020, though had not been to any of his rallies in person prior to January 6, instead watching them on television. She was involved in the Idaho Statehouse protest in 2020, which had resulted in glass in a door being shattered.

Hemphill was being treated for breast cancer at the time of the riot, having undergone surgery for the condition a few weeks prior. On a Facebook post about her plans to join the January 6 rally, she wrote that "it's a war!" The evening before the attack, Hemphill attended attended an event hosted by far-right radio host Alex Jones, posting a video of herself there on her YouTube channel, saying "let’s go to the Capitol," and "Don’t worry, Trump’s coming in office."

January 6 United States Capitol attack

Hemphill arrived at the "Stop the Steal" rally on the Ellipse late; she heard from different people that Trump would go to the Capitol with a crowd to protest the certification of votes that would finalize President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election. She brought a selfie stick to record the event with her phone.

Hemphill pushed past police lines three times as the attack began. She was filmed asking for assistance from police after being in the crowd, stating that she had "had surgery," before going to the doors of the capital, disobeying the officer who had told her to rest by a gate. She was later seen in the Capitol rotunda, telling fellow rioters to "come on in, come on, have fun… This is your house!" She later stated again that she was hurt, telling officers that she had "40 stitches". She was later escorted out by law enforcement.

Arrest and trial

Eight months after the attack, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrived at her front door in Boise, Idaho and she was arrested on August 3, 2021.

At her trial in federal court in 2022, prosecutors argued that she had exaggerated an injury to "distract" officers from dealing with more violent protesters. She pleaded guilty to one count of demonstrating, picketing or parading in a Capitol building, and apologized for “everything said and did at the Capitol”. In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors dropped three additional misdemeanor charges. She was sentenced by U.S. District Senior Judge Royce Lamberth on May 24, 2022 to 60 days in prison with 36 months of probation and $500 restitution. She served her sentence at a federal prison in Dublin, California in July and August 2022.

After incarceration

Hemphill has stated that she changed her mind on Trump in April 2023, around the time of her 70th birthday, though began to doubt his election claims during her time in prison. She has credited multiple causes for this change; she participated in discussions about the Capitol riot on Twitter spaces, exposing her to facts about the riot and the 2020 election, and her family staged a political intervention which she also said changed her mind on Trump.

In June 2023 Donald Trump responded to a post on Truth Social claiming that Hemphill would have to spend more time in jail than Hunter Biden, writing the word "horrible". She responded on Twitter, "please @realDonaldTrump don’t be using me for anything, I’m not a victim of Jan6, I pleaded guilty because I was guilty! #StopTheSpin". She was interviewed by The Daily Beast, to which she stated that she had broken from "the Trump cult" three months prior. She described herself as an "ex-MAGA Granny" on social media. That September she published an open letter to Congress in which she wrote "I am not a victim of the government, the Justice Department was not weaponized against me, I was a participant who broke the law." Her boyfriend of 12 years left her as a result of her political shift, and she has stated that she received death threats.

Hemphill voted for Joe Biden in the 2024 South Carolina Democratic presidential primary while living in Summerville, South Carolina, though later supported Kamala Harris when Biden withdrew from the election.

Hemphill stated on 13 January 2025, after the 2024 United States presidential election, that she would "refuse a pardon from felon Trump" once he took office, referencing Trump's statement that he would do so. She wrote, "I’m not going to be bullied by MAGA anymore, as those who went as far as calling my Probation Officer trying to get me in trouble backfired on them, thinking I would stop speaking out, just give me more confidence to continue!"

See also

• Criminal proceedings in the January 6 United States Capitol attack

References

1. Leurent, Pierrick; Cornet, Wassim (June 24, 2024). "US presidential election: Former 'MAGA Granny' using her voice to speak out against Trump". France 24. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
2. ^ Sommerlad, Joe (January 13, 2025). "Jan 6 rioter Pamela Hemphill says she will refuse Trump's pardon". The Independent. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
3. ^ Kochi, Sudiksha (August 11, 2024). "She once stormed the Capitol for Trump. Now, she'll be supporting Kamala Harris in November". USA Today. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
4. ^ Boone, Rebecca (May 24, 2022). "Idaho woman gets 2 months jail for U.S. Capitol riot actions". Associated Press. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
5. ^ Harvey, Josephine (June 27, 2023). "Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Tells Trump: Stop 'Using' Me". HuffPost. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
6. ^ Graziosi, Graig (June 26, 2023). "Convicted Jan 6 rioter tells Trump to stop misusing her story". The Independent. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
7. ^ "District of Columbia | HEMPHILL, Pamela". United States Department of Justice. February 4, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2025.

• Living people
• Convicted participants in the January 6 United States Capitol attack
• People from Boise, Idaho
• Criminals from Idaho
• American female criminals