[USA Today] President Donald Trump on Tuesday pardoned father-and-son cattle ranchers serving prison time for arson, in a case that helped inspire the armed occupation of a federal wildlife refuge in 2016.
Dwight Hammond, Jr., and his son, Steven Hammond, were convicted of starting two fires in 2001 and 2006 that damaged federal lands. But the White House said Tuesday that the evidence against them was "conflicting," and noted that the jury acquitted them on most of the charges.
The Hammonds were initially given sentences of three months to a year. But Trump blamed the Obama administration for filing an "overzealous appeal" because the judge's sentence was too lenient under federal sentencing guidelines. That appeal sent the Hammonds back to prison. |