President Donald Trump pardoned two Alaska diesel mechanics at a Wasilla rally Tuesday night after federal prosecutors said their Anchorage shop collected approximately $100,000 for emissions-control modifications to diesel vehicles. Trump brought Zachary Czubak and Patrick Fleming onstage, then signed clemency documents as he promoted energy investments and infrastructure projects in the state.
The Shop and the Federal Case
Czubak and Fleming co-owned Arm Rippin Toys with Mackenzie "Mac" Spurlock, a Wasilla diesel shop owner Trump had pardoned earlier. According to the Biden Justice Department, the three admitted removing federally required emissions-control equipment and tampering with monitoring devices on at least 37 diesel vehicles between July 2019 and September 2020.
Czubak and Fleming pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act. Federal prosecutors said the shop collected approximately $100,000 for the modifications. The reported payment went to the shop; the article doesn't explain how its co-owners divided the money.
Trump defended the mechanics at the rally, saying their work helped keep trucks running in Alaska's extreme cold. He called their prosecutions under the Biden-era Justice Department unfair. The case concerned federally required emissions equipment and monitoring devices, while Trump's defense focused on the mechanics' work in Alaska.
Clemency onstage
"I'm giving each one of the three an unconditional pardon," Trump told supporters, referring to Czubak, Fleming and Spurlock. During the event, he signed documents for the two Anchorage shop co-owners; Spurlock's pardon had come earlier.
One man thanked Trump and said, "It really did destroy us. It destroyed friendships. It destroyed families." The account doesn't identify the speaker. His words described personal and family consequences, while the Justice Department detailed the equipment removed, the monitoring devices tampered with and the shop's reported revenue.
Trump also used the signing to criticize former President Joe Biden's use of an autopen. "So I'm going to sign this now, something that Joe Biden would be unable to do because he was unable to sign his signature," Trump said. Granting clemency, he said, was a personal honor: "What an honor. I love doing this stuff."
Permits and energy investment
At the same rally, Trump announced that a long-awaited 800-mile natural gas pipeline had secured every necessary federal permit. "Every single permit that you need, you can start tonight," he told the crowd. "Every single permit that you need has been granted."
The pipeline announcement put federal permitting alongside the pardons in Trump's presentation of Alaska energy and infrastructure projects. The article doesn't give the project's cost, owner, employment estimate or expected revenue. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for additional details on the project's federal permitting status.
The rally included two distinct exercises of federal authority: pardons for mechanics prosecuted over vehicle modifications, and permits announced for an 800-mile natural gas pipeline. The available account names no union, labor organization or organized campaign involved in either matter, and reports no reform proposal on emissions enforcement or pipeline permitting.