More than 140 law enforcement officers were injured during the protest and attempt to stop the certification of the presidential election vote and one died of his injuries. Four more officers who were present during the attack later died by suicide.

Gov. Ned Lamont and others expressed surprise Tuesday that President Donald Trump issued blanket pardons and commutations for rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

“I was shocked,” Lamont said twice when asked by The Courant. “You can say, look, some of these people got wrapped up in the event and pardon them if they didn’t commit any crimes. But you’re pardoning people who beat the stuffing out of the police. I’m shocked that more people aren’t speaking out about that.”

For months on the campaign trail throughout 2024, Trump repeatedly described the convicted rioters as “hostages” and “patriots” who had been treated improperly by a “weaponized” U.S. Department of Justice. Trump declared that his pardons would now bring an end to “a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years.” Going forward, the pardons would start “a process of national reconciliation,” he said.

Some observers were surprised by the sweeping nature of the pardons because incoming Vice President JD Vance of Ohio and others had said recently that they did not expect those convicted of violent acts would receive pardons.

Among the 14 convicted rioters who received commutations, some had been convicted of seditious conspiracy – a difficult legal standard requiring extensive evidence.

Some of those convicted were already being released Tuesday. Those from Connecticut charged in the riots include:

Patrick Edward McCaughey III, 25, of Ridgefield, was charged with “an assault on Officer Hodges, the Capitol, and the rule of law itself,” Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin said in U.S. Department of Justice statement. McCaughey was reportedly captured in a YouTube video participating in the riot, crushing the officer against a door.

He was found guilty and sentenced to 90 months in prison.

“Even after days of seeing so many shocking and horrific scenes from the siege on the U.S. Capitol, the savage beating of D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Hodges stands out for the perpetrator’s blatant disregard for human life,” said Steven M. D’Antuono, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office. “Patrick McCaughey’s actions were violent, barbaric, and completely out of control.

According to the DOJ, the video shows McCaughey using a clear police riot shield to pin the officer against a door.

“The officer appeared to be loudly crying out in pain. As the officer was being pinned to the door by McCaughey, a separate rioter was violently ripping off the officer’s gas mask, exposing the officer’s bloodied mouth,” the statement said.

Richard Markey, 38, of Wolcott, had been sentenced to 30 months in prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon

According to a Department of Justice statement, on Jan. 6 Markey “emerged from the riotous mob and proceeded to climb on top of other rioters in order to make his way toward the police line defending the Tunnel. From his elevated vantage point, Markey began forcibly assaulting police officers in the Tunnel. Markey assaulted police with a baton and later his fists. In one instance, Markey forcibly struck and pulled on a police shield held by two officers.

“Markey then balanced himself atop the mob of rioters, grabbed the police shield again, and proceeded to kick the shield several times with considerable force. Another police officer sought to deter Markey from assaulting police using a pole; however, Markey pulled the pole from the officer’s grasp, pointed it at the officer, and screamed, “Oathbreaker! Oathbreaker! You’re not doing your f— job. Listen! I fought for this f— country.”

According to the DOJ statement, Markey “then used the pole that he wrestled away from the police to continue striking the shield held by the two police officers. Court documents say that Markey assaulted the officers with the pole by striking them with it seven distinct times and did so with such force that on the seventh strike, the pole broke.

“Markey struck the shield held by the two officers one final time before discarding the remaining piece. Markey continued to assault police, yelling at them, striking and pushing their shield with his hands, and later turning the shield parallel to the ground to render it ineffective.”

Jeremy K. Baouche, 24, a New London man who held a secret security clearance at Electric Boat, was charged with entering or remaining a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. He took a plea deal.

As part of the  investigation, Electric Boat, a U.S. Department of Defense contractor, reportedly provided FBI agents with the internet search history on Baouche’s work computer, which included searches on the inauguration, the Capitol building layout, guns and rifle scopes and Trump protests.

According to court documents, video examined by investigators showed Baouche enter the Capitol building and in the rotunda, at times shouting, “Whose house?” into a megaphone.

Benjamin Cohen, 22, of Westport, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers after joining a crowd in breaching a police line, pushing and shoving officers and eventually entering a room in the Capitol through a broken window.

James Roe Cleary, 56, of Waterford, was also facing charges for his alleged role in the riots. He was allegedly captured on video in an area of intense fighting between rioters and police.

“Cleary was filmed on body-worn camera allegedly clambering across the bodies of a fallen rioter and the downed officer and grabbing a baton on the ground,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “Cleary then quickly handed the baton off to another rioter in the mob and then returned to the front of the Tunnel.”

Richard T. Crosby Jr., 28, of Harwinton, was charged with obstruction of Congress, a felony with a 20-year maximum sentence, and five misdemeanors that accuse him of trespassing at the Capitol and engaging in disruptive behavior.

Crosby can be seen on video on and near the dais in the U.S. Senate chamber with about a dozen other supporters of former President Donald J. Trump. According to a police report, Crosby and the others walked in immediately after the evacuation of the senators and former Vice President Mike Pence, who was presiding over the Senate that day.

Along the campaign trail, Trump promised to pardon the Jan. 6 defendants and a Connecticut lawyer representing Joseph Biggs, a member of the militant Proud Boys organization that the government says organized the violent break-in at the Capitol, called for Trump to deliver.

A mother and daughter from Canterbury who took a bus to the Capitol were also convicted for participating in the riots.

Jean Lavin, 57, was sentenced to 36 months of probation, including confinement in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons for five weekends. Her sentence included 60 days of home detention, a $2,500 fine and $500 in restitution, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington D.C.

Her daughter, Carla Krzywicki, 20, also was sentenced to 36 months of probation, but her probation included 90 days of home detention, and a $500 fine.

Derby builder and one-time mayoral candidate Gino DiGiovanni was sentenced to 10 days in jail for entering the Capitol. DiGiovanni, 42, admitted he was in the building for a matter of minutes and he was not accused of violence or of causing any damage. He was tracked down by the army of amateur sleuths who studied thousands of hours of video recordings of the event and was confronted with his crime by a local television reporter at a meeting of the Derby Board of Alderman.

Victoria Bergeson and Maurcio Mendez, both 40 and reportedly of Groton, were also among those charged.

Thomas Kenny and Michael Kenny, of Greenwich, were set to be sentenced next week for participating in the riot.

Norm Pattis, the Connecticut lawyer defending Biggs, wrote a long letter to Trump appealing to his grievances with the criminal justice system and argues that clemency might contribute to political unification.

Connecticut’s congressional delegation reflected on the attacks ahead of the certification of the vote this year, remembering hearing glass breaking as they sheltered in place while rioters breached the building and shouted chants to hang then-Vice President Mike Pence.

“We should be really, really freaked out that Donald Trump, having not condemned that violence but celebrated that violence, got reelected,” U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said at the time. “Maybe that says something about the country but it probably says more about how unpopular the Democratic brand is that we can’t beat a candidate who openly celebrated and wrapped his arms around the violence that happened that day.”

Connecticut’s elected officials have issued dire warnings about what the Trump administration portends for democracy.

U.S. Rep. John B. Larson issued a statement Tuesday on Trump’s first day in office.

“When a mob of violent insurrectionists attacked the Capitol to try to overturn a free and fair election, five police officers died and more than 140 were injured defending our democracy,” Larson said. “These dangerous pardons are wide-reaching, including rioters who brutally assaulted police officers, and the leaders of white supremacist groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, many of whom have shown no remorse for their actions. No matter how hard Donald Trump tries to erase history, the American people will never forget what we saw on January 6th, and his legacy will forever be tarnished.”

In a statement reacting to news of the pardons, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Tuesday, “These mass pardons are sickening— the ultimate disrespect for police officers who were assaulted brutally by criminal rioters, suffering lasting injuries and death in some cases. Giving a blanket pass to cop killers and other insurrectionists, convicted by juries of everyday Americans, discredits justice and law enforcement. Shame on Republican colleagues who were protected that terrible day and now stay silent.”

Courant reporter Christopher Keating contributed to this report. 

The new minimum wage, $16.35 per hour, increases from $15.69 per hour to match the increasing cost of labor. The increase is triggered by a 2019 law that ties minimum wage to the federal employment cost index.

The employment cost index, which measures the cost of labor, increased by 4.2% over the past 12 months, according to Connecticut Labor Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo. The increase warrants a $0.66 increase to the state’s minimum wage, a statement from the governor’s office said.

The tipped wage, $6.38 minimum wage for workers including restaurant waiters, and the $8.23 minimum for bartenders, requires employers to ensure that those workers earn the increased minimum wage with tips.

State officials have said that 10% of Connecticut’s workforce or about 169,000 workers make minimum wage, according to the Connecticut Business Industry Association.

According to CBIA, Connecticut has the fifth-highest minimum wage, following the District of Columbia ($17.50), Washington state ($16.28), California ($16), and New York City and Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties ($16). The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, which prevails in 13 states.

The business lobbying organization also notes that along with a high minimum wage, Connecticut has one of the highest costs of living in the country. Many advocates agree the federal minimum wage is not enough to live on and MIT’s Living Wage Calculator says a single person with no children living in Hartford County would need to earn $22.66 an hour to make a living wage, defined as enabling someone to support themselves while working fulltime. The calculator pegs a living wage for two working adults with two children at $32.17 an hour.

In announcing the increase, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said, “The minimum wage was established to provide a fair, livable baseline of income for those who work. But, for too long, while the nation’s economy grew, the income of minimum wage workers stayed flat, making already existing pay disparities even worse, especially for the already economically disadvantaged. This is a policy that benefits everyone and provides more financial security to families, especially women and people of color.”

According to the Current Population Survey as calculated by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 60% of minimum wage earners in Connecticut are women.

The recent study, which looked at electric bills across the country and their impact on customers, found that Connecticut residents had the highest bills and had the second-highest percentage of residents who were unable to pay a bill, at 36%.

While Americans spent an average of $185.59 in August 2024, Connecticut residents paid an average of $254.47. And though utilities point to scarcity of energy sources, poor infrastructure and high transmission costs throughout New England, Arizona and Texas follow Connecticut on the list of highest energy bills. Rhode Island ranked seventh, New York 17th and Massachusetts 19th in highest average monthly electric bills.

The study finds that Connecticut, though it has the highest bills, has the third-highest electricity rate at 29.93 cents per kilowatt-hour, behind Hawaii and California. The difference could be attributed to energy usage or potentially fees and other costs that drive up bills.

When Connecticut electric bills soared in July, energy companies Eversource and United Illuminating said the spike was due to high usage prompted by the hottest July on record.

“We’ve had several heat waves when it’s been hot and humid, and this past month was the hottest July on record for the central Connecticut region,” Jamie Ratliff, a senior spokeswoman for Eversource, told the Courant at the time.  “So you might keep the thermostat set where you always do, but your system is working more because we’ve had so many hot and humid days.”

But at the same time, customers were also hit with an increase to the public benefits charge that kicked in July 1. The typical home was charged $12.43 for “public benefits” on Jan. 1 bill, compared to $58.98 a month starting July 1.

Some of that cost is to pay off bills for customers whose power could not be shut off during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as green energy initiatives, but 77% of the 10-month increased public benefits charge goes to cover a 2017 legislative promise to subsidize the Millstone nuclear power plant.

“Local transmission and local delivery are the components that Eversource is responsible for: They cover the cost of poles and wires and transformers, the people and training and equipment and everything else it takes for us to deliver power to businesses and homes,” Ratliff said.

Those two expenses account for 41% of a customer’s bill, while supply and public benefits make up the rest.

“Supply and public benefit are the two most volatile costs, they’re the most vulnerable to market forces. These are the components we don’t control, and they make up nearly 60% of a customer’s bill,” Ratliff said.

Supply is the cost of the actual electricity used by a home or business, and the rate changes every July 1 and January 1. In the new year, the rate is set to increase as winter power usage pushes up the market rate for natural gas. Eversource said the average monthly residential bill would grow by about $15 for the next six months, with UI customers’ growing by about $14.

The LendingTree report quotes Matt Schulz, the company’s chief credit analyst, on the reasons for the 2.6% increase in bills across the country in the past year.

“For one, climate change and the extreme weather that can come along with it may lead to greater usage, both in the heat of summer and the cold of winter,” he says. “Also, many utility companies are seeking to raise their rates in response to growing demand and other issues, and they’re getting their way in many cases. It all adds up to some challenges for people with tight budgets.”

The study included data from the U.S. Census and U.S. Energy Information Administration.

In response to the report, Connecticut Sens. Ryan Fazio, Sen. Jeff Gordon and Sen. Minority Leader Stephen Harding called it “even more evidence that electricity bills are too damn high for working and middle class CT families.”

In a statement Thursday, the senators said Republicans have offered solutions for rate relief, including calling for a special session with a petition reportedly signed by 58,000 residents to do away with the public benefits portion of residents’ bills. Democrats have said that any relief would be negligible and that officials are focused on long-term solutions.

“There’s no easy, pat answers where, you know, a 12-hour special session will solve these problems,” Lamont said in early September prior to a closed-door meeting of the legislature’s Energy and Technology Committee in his office.

“We all agreed that the fundamental problem we have right here is supply and demand in the state of Connecticut,” Lamont told reporters after the meeting. “How can we reduce our demand through efficiency, and more importantly, how do we get additional power generation here in the state of Connecticut?”

Republicans have said the public benefits charges amount to a hidden tax.

“Majority Democrats at the State Capitol continue to dismiss our solutions and call to action and have failed to offer any solutions themselves. People are absolutely furious at the electric bills that they’re paying, and they want to see changes. Democrats hold all the cards in Hartford. They just don’t feel the urgency to do something about this crisis,” the senators’ statement said.

Leading the Hartford offense will be forwards Alex Belzile, who had a team-high 50 points in 2023-24 with 19 goals and 31 assists. He’ll be joined by Brennan Othmann (21-28–49) and Brett Berard (25-23–48). Berard, a Providence native, burst on the scene as a rookie last season and led the team with 25 goals in 71 games.

Louis Domingue, a 32-year-old veteran, returns as the team’s primary goaltender but he’ll share plenty of time with Dylan Garand. Domingue, who has seen action in 143 NHL games, posted a 16-8-4 record in 2023-24 with a 2.66 GAA. Garand, meanwhile, was 16-17-5 with a 3.03 GAA, giving the team a combined average of 2.99.

The roster includes 24 players: 15 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders.

Hartford, the AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers, reached the Atlantic Division finals last season with series wins against Charlotte and Providence before falling to Hershey in the division finals. The Wolf Pack, under new coach Grant Potulny, open the new season on Saturday night at Lehigh Valley. The home opener is Friday at 7 p.m. at the XL Center against the Springfield Thunderbirds.

Prior to the full roster being announced, defensemen Case McCarthy and Carter Berger were loaned to the Rangers’ ECHL affiliate, the Bloomington Bison.

The complete roster:

Forwards: Alex Belzile, Brett Berard, Anton Blidh, Jaroslav Chmelař, Adam Erne, Bo Groulx, Ryder Korczak, Jake Leschyshyn, Bryce McConnell-Barker, Blake McLaughlin, Brennan Othmann, Dylan Roobroeck, Nate Sucese, and Adam Sýkora

Defensemen: Casey Fitzgerald, Ben Harpur, Blake Hillman, Connor Mackey, Matthew Robertson, Brandon Scanlin, and Ryan Siedem

Goaltenders: Louis Domingue and Dylan Garand

Ten players, including former UConn star Jonny Evans, were released from their professional tryout agreements (PTO) with a number being sent to the New York Rangers’ ECHL affiliate, the Bloomington Bison.

In addition the Rangers, the parent club of the Wolf Pack, sent goaltender Hugo Olias to the Bison. Joining Evans and Olias in Indiana will be forwards Brett Budgell, Linus Hemström, Dalton Duhart and Chongmin Lee, and defensemen Chase Pauls and Jake Murray.

Forward Matt Demils was sent to Worcester of the ECHL and forward Wyllum Deveaux to Maine of the ECHL, while defenseman Madison Bowen was simply released.

Wolf Pack defeat Bridgeport: Nathan Sucese scored the game-winner at 16:54 of the third period as five different Hartford players scored in a 5-4 win over the Bridgeport Islanders in an AHL preseason game on Thursday night at Trinity College in Hartford.

Blade Jenkins, Maxim Barbashev, Jake Murray and Alex Belzile also scored for the Wolf Pack. The two teams will close out the preseason portion of the schedule with a game at Bridgeport that is closed to the public. Hartford opens the regular season on Oct. 12 at Lehigh Valley and then at home on Oct. 18 against the Springfield Thunderbirds at the XL Center.

On the way to the Wolf Pack are forwards Jaroslav Chmelař, Bryce McConnell-Barker, Dylan Roobroeck and Adam Sýkora. Also, forwards Blade Jenkins and Nate Sucese and defenseman Blake Hillman have been released from their professional tryout agreements (PTO) with the Rangers and will report to Hartford with all three under contract with the Wolf Pack for the season.

The Rangers also released forward Adam Erne and defenseman Madison Bowey, allowing the pair to sign PTOs with the Wolf Pack.

The 6-foot-5 Chmelař, 21, is known to regional college fans, having scored five goals and adding 10 assists for Providence College last season. The Czech Republic native also appeared in seven regular-season games with the Wolf Pack, scoring two goals and had two goals and an assist in 10 playoff games.

In addition to Chmelaf, McConnell-Barker, Roobroeck, Sýkora and Hillman all spent time in Hartford last season.

Erne, 29, brings 379 games of NHL experience after stops in Tampa Bay, Detroit and Edmonton. He played in 24 games with the Oilers last season with a goal and an assist and has 41 goals and 50 assists overall in the NHL.

The Wolf Pack open the season on Oct. 12 at Lehigh Valley and open at home vs. Springfield on Oct. 18.

Among the 24 players announced are a pair of Wolf Pack veterans plus 12 players signed to professional tryout agreements (PTOs). It will be the first camp for new coach Grant Potulny, the former Northern Michigan University coach who was named to the post in June.

Hartford’s roster includes veterans Jake Leschyshyn, a forward who had eight goals and 11 assists in 47 games last season, and defenseman Blake Hillman, who had four goals and 11 assists in 60 games. Leschyshyn, forward Alex Belzile and defenseman Ben Harpur were assigned to the team by the Rangers on Saturday.

The Wolf Pack are coming off a 34-27-7-3 season in 2023-24, good for a fifth-place finish in the Atlantic Division. They won their opening two rounds in the postseason, series against Charlotte and Providence, before losing in the third round to Hershey. Hartford opens the season on Oct. 18 against the Springfield Thunderbirds at 7 p.m. at the XL Center.

Training camp roster:

Forwards (13): Maxim Barbashev, Alex Belzile, Brett Budgell*, Matt DeMelis*, Wyllum Deveaux*, Dalton Duhart*, Jonny Evans*, Linus Hemström*, Blade Jenkins, Peter Laviolette*, Chongmin Lee*, Jake Leschyshyn, and Blake McLaughlin.

Defensemen (8): Carter Berger, Ben Harpur, Blake Hillman, Griffin Luce*, Case McCarthy, Jake Murray*, Chase Pauls*, and Ryan Siedem.

Goaltenders (3): Brad Arvanitis*, Talyn Boyko, and Hugo Ollas.

* denotes player signed to PTO.

Yale counterpart Brogan McCaughey managed to complete 14 of 21 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown of 8 yards to Ry Yates. David Pantelis led the Elis (1-1 overall and 0-1 in the Ivy) with five catches for 86 yards. Josh Pitsenberger led the Yale ground game with 68 yards and two short scoring runs and Nick Conforti added a 24-yard field goal.

Wang completed 18 of 29 passes, including five for 99 yards and two touchdowns to Brendan Lee. The Big Red also rushed for a combined 197 yards and two touchdowns in improving to 1-1 and 1-0.

Trinity 45, Williams 14: At Hartford, after falling behind by two scores early, the undefeated Bantams rolled out 45 unanswered points to improve to 3-0 in the NESCAC.

Trinity quarterback Zander Zebrowski completed 20 of 29 passes for 366 yards and four touchdowns. Three of his scoring passes wound up in the arms of Nolan O’Brien, who caught a total of nine for 212 yards. The fourth scoring pass was a 28-yarder to Max Roche.

Tyler Dinapoli rushed for 59 yards and a TD, and Charlie Cooper returned an interception 52 yards for a touchdown. Jon Oris and Owen McHugh rushed for scores for Williams (2-1).

Bates 24, Wesleyan 13: Ryan Lynskey rushed for 121 yards and two scores and quarterback Colton Bosselait hooked up with Ryan Gleason on a 86-yard scoring pass to lead the Bobcats to their first win of the season in the NESCAC game in Middletown.

Wesleyan quarterback Niko Candido was 20-for-40 for 284 yards, including an 87-yard TD pass to Chase Wilson that had pulled the 2-1 Cardinals to within 14-10 late in the first half. Gage Hammond kicked two field goals for Wesleyan.

Game 2 of the Yard Goats’ first-ever playoff series is Thursday night at Dunkin’ Park with Game 3, if necessary, on Friday.

After the Yard Goats had taken a 2-1 lead on a Juan Gerrero solo home run in the seventh, Somerset touched Yard Goats relievers Carson Skipper and Juan Mejia for two runs in the bottom of the eighth.

Eric Reyzelman allowed a leadoff walk to start the ninth but then struck out the side to earn the save.

Top Rockies prospect Chase Dollander started and went five innings for Hartford, allowing a run on five hits with four strikeouts and four walks.

The Yard Goats took a 1-0 lead in the third on an RBI double by shortstop Ryan Ritter. Somerset quickly answered on a solo home run by Spencer Jones in the bottom of the inning.

Patriots starter Bailey Dees went 6 2/3 innings allowing two runs on four hits with nine strikeouts. Danny Watson earned the win with 1 1/3 innings of shutout relief. Skipper took the loss and Mejia was handed a blown save.

At approximately 6:15 p.m. on Thursday a paddleboarder – determined to be Mackinnon – was found by boaters. She was brought to shore as DEEP officers and the Seymour Fire Department personnel responded and medics began treatment. Mackinnon was brought to the hospital where she was later pronounced dead.

According to the DEEP report, the incident remains under investigation.