Trump Pardons Alaska Diesel Mechanics Onstage, Announces Pipeline Permits Cleared
At a Wasilla rally, the president signed pardons for diesel shop owners prosecuted under Biden and said an 800-mile gas pipeline has every federal permit it needs.
President Trump turned a midterm rally in Alaska into a clemency ceremony on Tuesday night.
According to Fox News, Trump brought two Anchorage diesel mechanics onstage in Wasilla and signed their pardons in front of the crowd. He identified them as Zachary Czubak and Patrick Fleming, co-owners of a diesel repair shop who pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act. "I'm giving each one of the three an unconditional pardon," Trump said, also referring to an earlier pardon for Wasilla shop owner Mackenzie "Mac" Spurlock.
The government's version of events, as Fox relays it from the Biden-era Justice Department: the co-owners of "Arm Rippin Toys" admitted removing federally required emissions-control equipment and tampering with monitoring devices on at least 37 diesel vehicles between July 2019 and September 2020. Prosecutors said the shop collected roughly $100,000 for the modifications.
Trump saw it differently. He defended the men, saying their work kept trucks running in Alaska's extreme cold, and argued the prosecutions were unfair. One of the men thanked him from the stage. "It really did destroy us. It destroyed friendships. It destroyed families," he said. Trump, for his part, told the crowd: "What an honor. I love doing this stuff." He also took a swipe at Joe Biden's use of an autopen while signing.
The bigger announcement was about energy. Trump said a long-awaited 800-mile natural gas pipeline in Alaska has secured every federal permit it needs. "Every single permit that you need, you can start tonight," he told the crowd. "Every single permit that you need has been granted."
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for more detail on the pipeline's permitting status, and the outlet's report does not say whether that request was answered. In other words, the permit claim is the president's own statement and has not been independently confirmed in the source we reviewed.
Still, the contrast is worth noting. The previous administration prosecuted small-business mechanics over modified trucks. This one is clearing the paperwork for a pipeline. For Alaskans who live and work in the cold, that is a clear statement about which side Washington is on.