WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has pardoned a Virginia man whose sentence already was commuted for his convictions stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Thomas Caldwell, a retired Navy intelligence officer, was tried alongside Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes but acquitted of seditious conspiracy — the most serious charge brought in the Jan. 6 attack.

Caldwell’s pardon is dated March 20. Defense attorney David Fischer said he informed Caldwell of the pardon on Monday after learning about it from news reports.

“And he’s elated,” Fischer added.

A jury convicted Caldwell of obstructing Congress and of obstructing justice for tampering with documents after the riot. One of those convictions was dismissed in light of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year.

On Jan. 10, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta sentenced Caldwell to time served with no supervised release. Prosecutors had recommended four years in prison for Caldwell.

Ten days later, on his first day back in the White House, Trump issued a sweeping grant of clemency to all 1,500-plus people charged in the Capitol riot. Trump commuted the sentences of several defendants who were leaders and members of the Oath Keepers or Proud Boys extremist groups.

More than a dozen defendants were convicted of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors said were violent plots to keep Trump in power.

Prosecutors had alleged at trial that Caldwell helped coordinate “quick reaction force” teams prosecutors said the Oath Keepers stationed outside the capital city to get weapons into the hands of extremists if they were needed. The weapons were never deployed, and lawyers for the Oath Keepers said they were only there for defensive purposes in case of attacks from left-wing activists.

But Caldwell, who didn’t enter the Capitol, took the witness stand and down played messages he sent leading up to Jan. 6, including one floating the idea about getting a boat to ferry “heavy weapons” across the Potomac River. Caldwell said he was never serious about it, calling it “creative writing.”

Fischer said his client was “first among equals for a pardon.”

“When a progressive D.C. jury acquits him of most of the charges and an Obama-appointed judge sentences him to basically time served and a fine, I think it’s safe to say the government got it wrong,” the attorney said.

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Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.

Michael Kunzelman, The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Protesters against billionaire Elon Musk’s purge of the U.S. government under President Donald Trump demonstrated outside Tesla dealerships throughout the U.S. and in some cities in Europe on Saturday in the latest attempt to dent the fortune of the world’s richest man.

The protesters were trying to escalate a movement targeting Tesla dealerships and vehicles in opposition to Musk’s role as the head of the newly created Department of of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, where he has gained access to sensitive data and shuttered entire agencies as he attempts to slash government spending. The biggest portion of Musk’s estimated $340 billion fortune consists of his stock in the electric vehicle company, which continues to run while also working alongside Trump.

After earlier demonstrations that were somewhat sporadic, Saturday marked the first attempt to surround all 277 of the automaker’s showrooms and service centers in the U.S. in hopes of deepening a recent decline in the company’s sales.

By early afternoon crowds ranging from a few dozen to hundreds of protesters had flocked to Tesla locations in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, Minnesota and the automaker’s home state of Texas. Pictures posted on social media showed protesters brandishing signs such as “ Honk if you hate Elon ” and “ Fight the billionaire broligarchy.”

As the day progressed, the protests cascaded around the country outside Tesla locations in major cities such as Washington, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Seattle, as well as towns in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Colorado. Smaller groups of counterprotesters also showed up at some sites.

“Hey, hey, ho, ho, Elon Musk has got to go!” several dozen people chanted outside a showroom in Dublin, California, about 35 miles (60 miles) east of San Francisco, while a smaller cluster of Trump supporters waved American flags across the street.

A much larger crowd circled another showroom in nearby Berkeley, chanting slogans to the beat of drums.

“We’re living in a fascist state,” said Dennis Fagaly, a retired high school teacher from neighboring Oakland, “and we need to stop this or we’ll lose our whole country and everything that is good about the United States.”

Anti-Musk sentiment extends beyond the U.S.

The Tesla Takedown movement also hoped to rally protesters at more than 230 locations in other parts of the world. Although the turnouts in Europe were not as large, the anti-Musk sentiment was similar.

About two dozen people held signs lambasting the billionaire outside a dealership in London as passing cars and trucks tooted horns in support.

One sign displayed depicted Musk next to an image of Adolf Hitler making the Nazi salute — a gesture that Musk has been accused of reprising shortly after Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration. A person in a Tyrannosaurus rex costume held another sign with a picture of Musk’s straight-arm gesture that said, “You thought the Nazis were extinct. Don’t buy a Swasticar.”

“We just want to get loud, make noise, make people aware of the problems that we’re facing,” said Cam Whitten, an American who showed up at the London protest.

Tesla Takedown was organized by a group of supporters that included disillusioned owners of the automaker’s vehicles, celebrities such as actor John Cusack, and at least one Democratic Party lawmaker, Rep. Jasmine Crockett from Dallas.

“I’m going to keep screaming in the halls of Congress. I just need you all to make sure you all keep screaming in the streets,” Crockett said during an organizing call this month.

Another Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, showed up at a protest in Seattle, which she represents in Congress.

Musk backlash has included some vandalism

Some people have gone beyond protest, setting Tesla vehicles on fire or committing other acts of vandalism that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has decried as domestic terrorism. In a March 20 company meeting, Musk indicated that he was dumbfounded by the attacks and said the vandals should “stop acting psycho.”

Crockett and other Tesla Takedown supporters have been stressing the importance of Saturday’s protests remaining peaceful.

But police were investigating a fire that destroyed seven Teslas in northwestern Germany in the early morning. It was not immediately clear if the blaze, which was extinguished by firefighters, was related to the protests.

In Watertown, Massachusetts, local police reported that the side mirror of a black pickup struck two people at a protest outside a Tesla service center, according to the Boston Herald. The suspect was promptly identified by police at the scene, who said there were no serious injuries.

Musk maintains that the company’s future remains bright

A growing number of consumers who bought Tesla vehicles before Musk took over DOGE have been looking to sell or trade them in, while others have slapped on bumper stickers seeking to distance themselves from him.

But Musk did not appear concerned about an extended slump in new sales in the March meeting, during which he reassured the workers that the company’s Model Y would remain “the best-selling car on Earth again this year.” He also predicted that Tesla will have sold more than 10 million cars worldwide by next year, up from about 7 million currently.

“There are times when there are rocky moments, where there is stormy weather, but what I am here to tell you is that the future is incredibly bright and exciting,” Musk said.

After Trump was elected last November, investors initially saw Musk’s alliance with the president as a positive development for Tesla and its long-running efforts to launch a network of self-driving cars.

That optimism helped lift Tesla’s stock by 70% between the election and Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration, creating an additional $560 billion in shareholder wealth. But virtually all those gains have evaporated amid investor worries about the backlash, lagging sales in the U.S., Europe and China, and Musk spending time overseeing DOGE.

“This continues to be a moment of truth for Musk to navigate this brand tornado crisis moment and get onto the other side of this dark chapter for Tesla,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said in a recent research note.

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This story has been corrected to fix the misspelling of the surname of Rep. Pramila Jayapal, which appeared in an earlier version.

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Associated Press writers Terry Chea in Berkeley, California, Mustakim Hasnath in London and Stefanie Dazio in Germany contributed.

Michael Liedtke, The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana voters soundly rejected four constitutional amendments championed by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry related to crime, courts and finances.

Voters said no to each amendment by margins exceeding 60%, according to preliminary results the secretary of state’s office released after voting concluded Saturday evening.

Landry and his allies had crisscrossed the state in support of an amendment that would have made sweeping changes to the revenue and finance section of the state’s constitution. The amendment received bipartisan support from lawmakers during a November special session on tax reform and was presented as a way to boost teacher salaries, curb excess spending and get rid of special tax breaks in the constitution.

Yet critics from across the political spectrum lambasted the proposed amendment as lacking transparency. The bill exceeded 100 pages but was condensed into a 91-word ballot question for voters.

While major teachers’ unions backed the amendment, a coalition of liberal advocacy groups and influential conservative religious figures opposed the changes that would have liquidated educational trust funds and removed constitutional protections for tax breaks for some kinds of properties owned by religious institutions.

Another proposed amendment would have made it easier for lawmakers to expand the crimes for which juveniles could be sentenced as adults. Criminal justice reform groups rallied to oppose what they described as draconian punishment that would not address the root causes of youth crime.

The remaining amendments would have allowed lawmakers to create regional specialty courts, which opponents said could be used to usurp judicial authority from local courts.

Landry said he was disappointed but would continue to fight for “generational changes” in Louisiana.

“We do not see this as a failure,” he said in a statement. “We realize how hard positive change can be to implement in a State that is conditioned for failure.”

Landry blamed the loss on the left-wing billionaire George Soros and “far left liberals.” Open Society Foundations, a philanthropic organization founded by Soros, did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The Louisiana Democratic Party called the outcome “a resounding defeat” for Landry.

“Together, with voters from every party, people came to the conclusion that the constitutional amendments were at best misguided – at worst an attempt to give tax breaks to the rich while locking up more of our children,” the party said in a statement. “That is not the Louisiana values we stand for.”

Jack Brook, The Associated Press

A lawyer for New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Monday asked the judge handling his federal corruption case to hurry up and decide if he’s going to toss the charges, arguing that the embattled mayor needs to turn his attention to running for reelection.

In a letter to Judge Dale E. Ho, Adams’ attorney Alex Spiro requested for Ho to issue a ruling in the case “as soon as practicable,” noting that petitions to get on the city’s Democratic primary election ballot are due “just days away” on Thursday.

Adams hasn’t done much publicly to set up a formal campaign apparatus, but the Democrat has has repeatedly insisted that he is running for a second term as mayor. A cast of Democratic challengers are mounting serious campaigns ahead of the primary election in June.

The mayor was charged last year with conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery following allegations that he accepted illegal campaign contributions and travel perks from people, including a Turkish official, seeking to buy influence while he was Brooklyn borough president.

Adams pleaded not guilty and was set for a to go on trial in April.

But in February, President Donald Trump’s Justice Department moved to drop the case, arguing that the charges were filed too close to Adams’ reelection campaign and would interfere with the mayor assisting with the Trump administration’s immigration agenda. The Justice Department also left open the option to refile the case after the mayoral election in November.

In response to the extraordinary move from the Justice Department, Ho canceled the trial and brought in an outside lawyer to provide neutral advice on the case. The court-appointed attorney issued recommendations in early March for Ho to grant the Justice Department’s unusual request to dismiss the case. The recommendations included one saying that federal prosecutors should also be barred from reviving the charges.

Spiro, in his Monday letter to the judge, noted that Ho himself has said it is in the best interest for the case to conclude quickly given the mayor’s political calendar.

“We urge the court consistent with its own comments to promptly reach a decision in this matter,” Spiro wrote.

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Izaguirre reported from Albany, NY.

Anthony Izaguirre, The Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath on Monday announced that she’s suspending her exploratory bid for governor in 2026, casting uncertainty on the Democratic field.

McBath might still run for governor that year, spokesperson Jake Orvis said, but she needs to focus on her husband Curtis’ health right now after complications from a recent cancer surgery.

The four-term member of Congress, best known as a gun control advocate, had filed papers on March 5 to raise money for governor.

McBath is remaining in Congress, Orvis said

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp is completing his second term and can’t run again. On the Republican side, Attorney General Chris Carr is already running for governor in 2026 and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is widely expected to run.

Other Democrats who have been exploring a run include former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, state Sen. Jason Esteves and former DeKalb County Chief Executive Officer Michael Thurmond. Democrat Stacey Abrams, who ran and lost to Kemp in 2018 and 2022, has not closed the door on a third run.

McBath first won election to Congress in 2018, ousting Republican U.S. Rep Karen Handel to seize a seat in Atlanta’s northern suburbs once held by Newt Gingrich. When Republicans redrew electoral districts after the 2020 Census, McBath jumped into a primary race against fellow Democrat Carolyn Bordeaux, beating her handily and winning election. Then after a court ordered another round of redistricting after finding African American votes were diluted, McBath shifted to a district Republicans drew on the western side of Atlanta.

Those moves mean McBath has represented a much larger number of voters than the typical member of Congress, which could make her a stronger statewide candidate.

McBath, like Abrams, would be bidding to become the first Black female governor of an American state.

The 64-year-old McBath rose to prominence as a gun control advocate after her 17-year-old son, Jordan Davis, was shot and killed in 2012 by a white man who was angry over the loud music the Black teenager and his friends were playing at a gas station in Jacksonville, Florida. McBath, a former flight attendant, has had her political career heavily backed by billionaire and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

She has touted her support of a 2022 law that toughens background checks for the youngest gun buyers, keeps firearms from more domestic violence offenders and helps states enact red flag laws making it easier for authorities to take weapons from people judged dangerous.

McBath led a group of survivors and family members of victims of gun violence who spoke in a prime-time slot at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

Jeff Amy, The Associated Press