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Trump pardons former soldier convicted for defying COVID requirements
President Donald Trump has pardoned former Lt. Mark Bashaw, who was convicted of defying Biden-era COVID requirements for the armed services.
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President Donald Trump has pardoned a former Army officer who was convicted of defying Biden-era COVID requirements for the armed services.
Former Lt. Mark Bashaw, who was discharged from the US Army following his 2022 conviction, was one of several people who saw their criminal records wiped away by the president on Wednesday.
The father-of-three was found guilty by a military judge for violating the Department of Defense's policies for soldiers who opted not to get the COVID vaccine as mandated by then-Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin.
Under the requirements, those who did not get the jab were required to work from home and only return to the office after they submit a negative COVID-19 test. Even then, they were required to wear face masks indoors.
But Bashaw openly defied the rules, reporting to work without a COVID test and without wearing a mask, USA Today reports.Â
He then became the first member of the military to be tried by a court marital over the COVID regulations - which were rescinded in 2023 when the pandemic subsided.
'I got courts-martialed because I refused to participate with lies,' he wrote in a 2023 X post.
The judge overseeing his case never sentenced him, but the conviction gave Bashaw a criminal record that is now wiped clean.Â
Former Lt. Mark Bashaw (pictured), who was discharged from the US Army following his 2022 conviction, was one of several people who saw their criminal records wiped away by President Donald Trump on Wednesday
Trump pardoned many others as well, including up-and-coming rapper NBA YoungBoy
He had served as the company commander of the Army Public Health Center's headquarters at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, and was previously a noncommissioned officer with the Air Force.
It remains unclear whether Bashaw will be reinstated in the military under Trump's January 27 executive order stipulating that the thousands of service members who were ousted under Lloyd's order could be brought back with full service.
The Pentagon has since tried to woo back service members, The Hill reports.Â
'They never should have had to leave military service and the department is committed to assisting them in their return,' said Tim Dill, the Department of Defense's acting deputy undersecretary of personnel and readiness.
But as of early April, only about 100 of the more than 8,700 ousted service members have chosen to rejoin the ranks.
Bashaw was not the only person to receive a presidential pardon on Wednesday, though, as Trump followed through on his promise to pardon reality television stars Todd and Julie Chrisley.
He also pardoned former Republican New York Rep. Michael Grimm, who pleaded guilty to underreporting taxable revenue from his Manhattan restaurant; former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, who pleaded guilty in 2015 to election fraud; and notorious Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover.
Additionally, up-and-coming rapper NBA YoungBoy saw his gun charges thrown out.
NBA YoungBoy, 24, pleaded guilty to gun charges in December
He admitted that he was a felon in possession of a 9mm gun and a .45-caliber pistol when he was arrested filming a music video in Louisiana in 2020, and said he 'knowingly possessed' a Sig Sauer 9mm semiautomatic pistol in his Utah home while he was serving house arrest
The 24-year-old rap star, born Kentrell Gaulden, pleaded guilty in December to one count linked to his 2020 gun possession arrest and a separate count tied to more recent gun charges in his home state of Utah, according to Rolling Stone.Â
Gaulden had admitted in his plea that he was a felon in possession of a 9mm gun and a .45-caliber pistol when he was arrested filming a music video outside his grandfather's house in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on September 28, 2020.
He also allegedly said he 'knowingly possessed' a Sig Sauer 9mm semiautomatic pistol in his Utah home while he was serving house arrest related to the pending Louisiana case.Â
Gaulden was ultimately sentenced to 23 months in prison on gun charges related to the 2020 case in Louisiana, along with five years probation and a $200,000 fine for the Utah gun charge, the New York Times reports.
But he received credit for time served dating back to at least May 2024, when he was taken into custody following a raid on his Utah home in which authorities discovered the semiautomatic pistol.
Gaulden was then released from federal prison in March and was sent to spend the rest of his sentence under home confinement.
He finally became a free man last month, and has since announced his first-ever headlining tour with 32 dates across the United States.
Gaulden is now free to do that, as Trump reportedly assured the rapper that he will no longer be subject to the strict terms of his probation - which included drug testing and potentially laborious approval for any travel, especially internationally.
In a statement posted to his Instagram Story Wednesday, Gaulden wrote that he would like to thank the president 'for granting me a pardon and giving me the opportunity to keep building - as a man, as a father and as an artist'
In a statement posted to his Instagram Story Wednesday, Gaulden wrote that he would like to thank the president 'for granting me a pardon and giving me the opportunity to keep building - as a man, as a father and as an artist.
'This moment means a lot,' he continued. 'It opens the door to a future I've worked hard for and I am fully prepared to step into this.'
Drew Findling, an attorney who represented the rapper, also told the Times he is 'thrilled for Kentrell that his legal journey has come to a conclusion.
'From Louisiana to Utah, the battles have been endless and now he can concentrate on first and foremost his family and then, of course, his amazing career,' the lawyer said.Â
'The world is at his fingertips,' added Andrew Lieber, Gaulden's touring agent.
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