BALTIMORE — All it took was the stroke of a pen to reverse the work of the largest criminal investigation in Department of Justice history, and to keep Adam Obest from reporting to prison.
"I have never put up a Trump flag in front of my house, ever. I just did," Obest said.
Obest is cautiously celebrating after President Trump, amid a flurry of executive orders, pardoned nearly all defendants charged in connection to January 6.
Four years ago, Obest was one of several people who traveled to the U.S. Capitol to attend President Trump's rally.
That decision changed his life forever.
Investigators reported he used an American flag in a physical clash with capitol police that day, leading to criminal charges.
A judge sentenced him to 18 months in prison and he was expecting to have to report any day now.
He says receiving a full pardon feels "surreal".
"The pain was significant but I always believed that God you're going to come through," He said. "It's super relieving."
He's still wearing his court-ordered ankle monitor but anticipates it'll soon be gone.
He's working with his probation officer and his attorney while waiting on official paperwork from the White House.
Obest says he's now navigating through uncharted waters.
"I would love to work in the government again. I would love to get my access back to the military base again," he said. "Do I have to go to the State Board of Elections saying can I still vote?"
Six inmates from Maryland convicted, all of whom were charged with assaulting a Capitol police officer, were among the hundreds Trump ordered by released immediately by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
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"I think what we're seeing here is the straight up justification of violence, " former Lead Investigator for the January 6 Committee Tim Heaphy said.
Critics, including several politicians, voiced their concerns about the greater implications of Trump's use of the presidential power.
"I do worry that there's this sense that, out there, that people can get away with committing acts of violence because there's this backstop or there's this protection currently in the White House. That does make me fear for future spasms of this political violence going forward," Heaphy said.
