ENTERPRISE — Two pardoned January 6 political prisoners — Anthony Mazzio of Midland City and Russell Alford of Hokes Bluff — recounted their unthinkable experiences to the Republican Women of Coffee County this week.
Mazzio reflected, "I stood outside the Capitol on January 6, 2021, because I believed and still believe that the rules governing the 2020 election were changed in a way that was unconstitutional… [There] were fundamental changes that altered how millions of votes were counted."
"I saw law enforcement escalate the situation by firing tear gas and percussion grenades into a crowd along with rubber bullets," he added. "I watched as some barricades were moved, some by protesters, but some by officers themselves… No one said, come on in, but the message was clear…"
Mazzio said he regretted entering the Capitol building but criticized mainstream media for ignoring critical context.
"I saw officers who were clearly overwhelmed and confused, just like the crowd," he noted.
"…I watched a woman get beaten unconscious on the Capitol steps by officers wielding batons," Mazzio continued." She later died. That moment was one of the many that fueled the anger and chaos that followed."
Three people reportedly died from police action on January 6: Ashli Babbitt, Benjamin Phillips and Rosanne Boyland, the woman Mazzio saw beaten by police.
Alford explained his motivation for going to D.C., stating, "I'm not really a Trump guy. I'm just an American. What I saw was going on was completely illegal…"
After listening to President Donald Trump's speech at the Ellipse, Alford walked with friends toward the Capitol, he recalled
"…When they didn't have a quorum on the floor to verify those votes, here they came shooting bullets at us," he said. "It went crazy. The whole thing was a big Broadway play. They had walked this through the day before it ever happened."
Alford walked in, filmed for 11 minutes and then exited as soon as he was asked to leave.
He detailed, "There was a camera crew, an assistant, and a producer that had walked by me two or three times… There were people getting paid to be there."
Alford said of Obama-appointed Judge Tanya Chutkan, who presided over his case, "I can see being loyal. But when you're crooked and loyal, it's different than when you're righteous and loyal."
"The prosecuting attorney…made it sound like I was just somebody that was going to try to take over the world," he added.
Alford refused a plea deal because he "had no reason to lie" and would not "plead guilty to something I didn't do."
Alford was imprisoned for one year and Mazzio for 60 days. Both had finished their sentences when Trump's pardon arrived, although Alford had two weeks left on probation.
While neither Mazzio nor Alford were incarcerated in the infamous "D.C gulag," both said their time in prison opened their eyes to the need for reform.
"There are people that are in prison for drugs and dope that they've never even seen, and they call it ghost dope," said Alford.
Alford still has a virus in his gut from the prison food. He said officers bring in phones that sell for "$2,000 or $3,000 a piece."
"The vast majority of people in prison are not bad people," Mazzio asserted. "They just make bad choices. And I think prison, except for those that…committed violent crimes… shouldn't be about punishment as much as it should be about rehabilitation."
Mazzio and his family received hate messages on social media, while Alford found that many previously friendly police officers kept silent over fears of losing "their retirement."
Both suffered financial losses while in prison, although their businesses, Alford's Paint and Body and Mazzio's Flooring, survived.
Alford praised the Texas-based American Patriot Relief, founded by two J6-ers, Mark and Jalise Middleton, who he called "the two most Christian-like people you've ever met in your life."
The group financially aided Alford and other J6-ers and has built a "tiny home community" to help rehabilitate freed J6-ers.
Alford stated, "I just want to remind all you people that are running for office, don't take that money from the Fed. We don't need it… We've got the good old boys network alive and well here in Alabama."
Mazzio urged, "If we're going to move forward as a nation, we have to be willing to confront the full complexity of what happened, not just the version that fits neatly into a headline."
Alford warned, "Anybody that can do that to another human being and not regret it is just evil… People say, what are you going to do about it? Everything I can… It's people like us that have got to stop it. And it's not over yet, folks."
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