Zachary Alam gets seven years for Virginia burglary

5 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 10

A Henrico County judge sentenced the 34-year-old on Thursday after prosecutors said he broke into a home near Richmond in May 2025 and stole electronics and jewellery.
Alam, pardoned by Donald Trump in January after serving nearly four years for the 2021 Capitol attack, was also given 20 years' probation on each conviction.
Prosecutors said the state case showed Trump's clemency did not shield him from new charges; the arrest was believed to be the first new prosecution of a pardoned Capitol rioter.

How does the justice system balance presidential mercy for past offenses with accountability for an individual's future crimes?

When a federal pardon precedes a new state crime, what does it reveal about the limits of executive clemency?