Zachary Alam (U.S. Attorney’s Office).
A man from Virginia, Zachary Jordan Alam, who was pardoned by President Donald Trump for his involvement in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, is now facing legal trouble again after being arrested for burglary, according to authorities.
Alam, 33, made headlines for not only attacking police officers but also breaking the window to the Speaker’s Lobby, through which Ashli Babbitt entered before being fatally shot by a Capitol police officer. He was sentenced to eight years in prison and served about half of that time before being freed through Trump’s pardon for most of the Jan. 6 defendants.
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Around 11 p.m. on May 9, cops from the Henrico Police Department responded to the 3200 block of Arthurwood Place for a reported breaking and entering. Once on scene, officers spoke with the homeowners, who told them an “unknown man” entered their home through the back door.
“The man took several items before he was observed by people in the home and was asked to leave,” Henrico police told Law&Crime.
Cops tracked the man to a nearby neighborhood and arrested him. They identified the suspect as Alam. He stands accused of residential breaking and entering and vandalism. Alam has apparently bonded out of the Henrico County Jail and has a court hearing scheduled for June 24. His attorney listed in court records did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Federal agents arrested Alam in the weeks after the Jan. 6 riot. In September 2024, a jury convicted him of assaulting officers, civil disorder, destruction of government property, trespassing, disorderly conduct and picketing in a Capitol building.
Coincidentally, U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich, a Trump appointee, sentenced Alam some 48 hours after the 45th and 47th president’s election victory in November. Alam defended his actions even though he said he knew they were illegal because he didn’t think the transfer of power was warranted in 2021. He also demanded a pardon.
“But I will not accept a second-class pardon,” Alam said, according to The Washington Post. “I want a full pardon with all the benefits that come with it, including full compensation.”
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During the riot, Alam helped other rioters scale barriers propped up as makeshift ladders outside the Capitol. He entered the building at 2:17 p.m. through a broken window adjacent to the Senate Wing emergency exit doors, according to the statement of facts filed in his criminal case.
Alam spent 30 minutes roaming around inside the Capitol. On one floor, he tried to kick in a door. On another floor, he threw a red velvet rope from a balcony at police officers below, court documents said.
At 2:33 p.m., he was corralled in the Will Rogers corridor, where he yelled at officers, laughed, argued with other rioters, and joined the mob that pushed through the police line.
Later, he went to the Speaker’s Lobby, where he looked through the glass door inside as members of Congress and staff were evacuating the chamber.
“I’m going to f— you up,” he shouted at the front of the mob multiple times in the faces of officers standing guard.
Alam moved to the doors, punched the glass repeatedly with his fist, and shattered three glass door panes.
As he punched the door, Alam pushed up against three officers standing guard. Alam rallied the crowd, announcing that “the problem” was with the House members. Alam then used a black helmet to smash out three glass panes.
As he was leaving the area, Alam called out to fellow rioters, “We need guns, bro … we need guns.”
