President Donald Trump Pardons 11 Individuals for Environmental and Other Violations

On July 4, President Donald Trump granted pardons to 11 individuals, including 9 people who were convicted of violating the Clean Air Act for installing or selling ‘defeat devices,’ software used to bypass emissions controls. In a post on Truth Social, the President claimed that the individuals were merely ‘fixing their car.’

The Pardons and the Background

The pardoned individuals include Ryan and Wade Lalone, Matt Geouge, Tim Clancy, and Mac Spurlock, who were represented by lawyer Stewart Cables and lobbyist Jeff Daugherty. According to a White House official, the pardons also included Joshua Davis, Barry Pierce, Aaron Rudolf, Adam Kidan, Jack Harvard, and Jonathan Achtemeier. Three of the individuals were pardoned for similar pollution violations.

A press release from the Justice Department in February 2025 announced the conviction of Achtemeier, saying ‘From the comfort of his home, this defendant caused environmental damage across the country, tampering with pollution controls on diesel trucks so that they spewed 30 to 1,200 times the pollutants of a legally configured truck.’

Trump last fall granted clemency to Troy Lake, a Wyoming mechanic who served seven months in prison for violating federal emissions laws for disabling air pollution-control equipment on diesel engines. In January, the Department of Justice ordered prosecutors to drop all cases and investigations related to the defeat devices.

The Background of the Pardoned Individuals

Two of the individuals pardoned, Jack Harvard and Adam Kidan, were convicted of crimes not related to pollution. Harvard was convicted of bank fraud charges in Texas in the 1980s and now runs the Texas Safari Ranch in Clifton, Texas. Kidan was sentenced to 70 months in prison in 2006 for conspiracy and fraud charges related to his attempt, along with lobbyist Jack Abramoff, to purchase a casino for $147.5 million with a counterfeit wire transfer document. Kidan is a donor to Republican campaigns.

A lawyer representing the defendants, Stewart Cables, said that Trump ‘is the only president who would have taken an interest in these parties, and the reason is he’s the only president to face such ferocious weaponization himself.’

Daugherty added, ‘Thanks to God for putting it on Trump’s heart to approve these pardons, and thank God for Donald Trump.’

Background on the Environmental Violations

The individuals who were pardoned for violating the Clean Air Act were convicted of installing or selling ‘defeat devices,’ software used to bypass emissions controls. The Justice Department’s press release in February 2025 announced the conviction of Achtemeier, saying ‘From the comfort of his home, this defendant caused environmental damage across the country, tampering with pollution controls on diesel trucks so that they spewed 30 to 1,200 times the pollutants of a legally configured truck.’

Trump last fall granted clemency to Troy Lake, a Wyoming mechanic who served seven months in prison for violating federal emissions laws for disabling air pollution-control equipment on diesel engines. In January, the Department of Justice ordered prosecutors to drop all cases and investigations related to the defeat devices.

The Reaction to the Pardons

Daugherty praised Trump, saying that he ‘is the only president who would have taken an interest in these parties, and the reason is he’s the only president to face such ferocious weaponization himself.’

Daugherty also said, ‘Thanks to God for putting it on Trump’s heart to approve these pardons, and thank God for Donald Trump.’