President Donald Trump announced pardons for Alaska diesel mechanics Zachary Czubak and Patrick Fleming during a rally in Wasilla on Tuesday, according to Fox News. He brought the men onstage and signed clemency documents, the report said.
Czubak and Fleming, co-owners of an Anchorage diesel repair shop, pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act. The Biden Justice Department said the shop’s owners removed emissions-control equipment and altered monitoring devices on at least 37 diesel vehicles from July 2019 through September 2020. Prosecutors said the shop received about $100,000 for the modifications.
Trump criticized the prosecutions as unfair and said the mechanics’ work helped keep trucks running in Alaska’s harsh cold. He also referred to a pardon previously granted to Wasilla shop owner Mackenzie “Mac” Spurlock. One of the men thanked Trump at the rally and said the prosecution had damaged relationships and families.
The rally also featured energy announcements. Trump said a proposed 800-mile natural-gas pipeline had obtained all necessary federal permits and could begin. Fox News reported that it contacted the White House for more information about the project’s permitting status; the supplied report does not include a response or independent confirmation of Trump’s statement.
