President Trump has pardoned two Alaska auto shop owners convicted of violating the Clean Air Act, handing them the documents during a rally in Wasilla.
Zachary Czubak and Patrick Fleming were called on to the stage during Tuesday’s event, where the president described them as having been “wrongly charged”. He accused the Biden-era Justice Department of targeting “the Alaskan way of life”.
“Bring me the pardons!” Mr Trump said to an aide before signing the documents at the podium and passing them to the two men. The crowd cheered as he held one of the pardons aloft.
Czubak, Fleming and Michael Hanzuk were co-owners of Arm Rippin Toys, an auto shop specialising in diesel vehicles, according to court records. Federal prosecutors alleged that the business offered to remove emissions-control systems from customers’ vehicles for between $1,140 and $5,445.
The modifications involved altering physical components and disabling diagnostic systems so they would not detect a problem, prosecutors said. The changes caused the vehicles to release more pollutants.
All three men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act in 2022. Each received five years’ probation, a $66,000 fine and an order to carry out community service.
At the rally, Mr Trump said: “Think of it: They want to put them in jail for 10 years because they fixed an engine. How sick?”
He also said he was “taking care of” a third person, without naming Hanzuk. Hanzuk received a pardon last month.
Fleming told the crowd that the case had “really did destroy us”, adding: “We’re not criminals. We’re not trying to hurt anybody. We want to help Alaskans. We want to help people with diesel trucks, with vehicles, across the world.”
Mr Trump also referred to Mac Spurlock, another Alaska diesel mechanic whom he pardoned earlier this year after he was charged with removing pollution-control systems. Spurlock and his supporters have argued that the modifications were needed because emissions systems could malfunction in Alaska’s extremely cold weather.
In January, the Justice Department announced that it would no longer pursue criminal charges under the Clean Air Act based on allegations involving tampering with onboard diagnostic devices.
Officials under the Biden administration had defended the prosecution of the Arm Rippin Toys owners, warning that removing emissions controls could cause a “massive increase in air pollution from even a single vehicle”.
Mr Trump has increasingly used his pardon power for people who, like him, argue that they were wrongly prosecuted. His administration has also rolled back or challenged other environmental regulations, including fuel economy standards.
