- Net worth
- Unknown
- Crimes
- january 6, obstruction, weapons, other
- Convicted of
- Jan. 6: disorderly conduct, restricted grounds, parading; California: assault with deadly weapon, resisting officer
- Original sentence
- Jan. 6 misdemeanors (pardoned before trial); California: three years jail on assault with deadly weapon (June 2023)
- Time served
- ~608 days credit on state sentence before Jan. 6 pardon
Background
Howard Raymond Freelove, of Chula Vista, California, faced San Diego County violent-crime convictions before prosecutors charged him federally for his conduct during the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
The Case
Prosecutors alleged Freelove entered the Capitol roughly 20 minutes after the initial breach, spent about 20 minutes filming in the Rotunda and Statuary Hall, and left. He was charged in early 2024 with misdemeanor disorderly conduct, entering restricted grounds, and parading. Months before that indictment—and years before his arrest on Capitol charges—local outlets reported that in December 2021 he disrupted a coffee shop over a Black Lives Matter sign, yelling profanities until police cited him for misdemeanor vandalism.
San Diego Superior Court records show August 2022 charges of assault with a deadly weapon and resisting an officer. A jury convicted him in May 2023; on June 26, 2023, he was sentenced to three years in jail with 608 days of credit for time served and ordered to pay restitution to the victim. His Capitol conduct, if proved, would have formed part of the wider attack on Congress's certification of the election. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported he was among at least eight people with San Diego-area ties pardoned for Jan. 6 offenses in January 2025.
The Pardon
On January 20, 2025, President Trump granted Freelove a full pardon under a proclamation covering certain offenses relating to the events at or near the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Sources
- The Jan. 6 Pardons: Clemency recipients and subsequent charges (Lawfare compiled database)
- President Trump's Proclamation Granting Pardons and Commutations for Jan. 6 Offenses (DOJ)
- Chula Vista man charged in Jan. 6 riot (Times of San Diego, Feb. 2024)
- At least 8 with San Diego ties pardoned for Jan. 6 breach (San Diego Union-Tribune, Jan. 2025)
- Chula Vista police arrest man after coffee shop incident (CBS 8)
- Freelove San Diego Superior Court records (DocumentCloud)