Grove City man pardoned in Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection remains in prison
LANCASTER, Ohio (WCMH) – A Grove City man who was pardoned for his alleged role in the January 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol building remains in a Fairfield County prison.
According to the Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, Benjamin Shuler will not be released from Lancaster's Southeastern Correctional Institution while serving a five-year sentence in the death of Olivia Wright, who was killed in a drunk-driving crash near Ashville on September 29, 2020.
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Early that morning, Shuler veered left of center on Jackson Pike, near the Franklin County and Pickaway County lines, and struck Wright's vehicle, which was traveling in the opposite direction. Wright, 22, of Circleville, died at the scene. Neither driver was wearing a seat belt, according to the Franklin County Sheriff's Office.
Olivia Wright's death was a driving force behind House Bill 37, now known as 'Liv's Law.', which creates harsher penalties for those convicted of driving under the influence, particularly for repeat offenders. The bill unanimously passed the Statehouse on Dec. 18 and the incoming law will go into effect on April 9.
Shuler was hospitalized in critical condition and was later arrested on Jan. 11, 2021, five days after he went to Washington D.C. on Jan. 6. For previous reports on Shuler and Liv's Law, view the video player above.
Federal felony charges from the Capitol riots included civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, both felony offenses. He was also charged with misdemeanor crimes of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and engaging in an act of physical violence on Capitol grounds.
Court documents said Shuler resisted a police line that was established to clear the area of protesters on the northwest stairs of the U.S. Capitol building. Shuler then reportedly began pushing a police officer's riot shield several times and pressed his body into the shield several times with significant force.
A police officer's body-worn camera footage depicted Shuler gesturing to others to meet him in front of the police line and again resisted by pushing back and swiping at an unidentified officer's riot shield. Police verified Shuler's identification based off photos he posted on his own Facebook account.
In a criminal complaint, Shuler initially denied going to the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, during an interview with authorities. When shown photographs of himself from the U.S. Capitol, he then acknowledged that he had gone to the Capitol and had interacted with law enforcement officers.
Shuler was granted clemency along with approximately 1,500 other defendants and dozens of Ohioans who were charged during the Capitol riots.
But Shuler remains in prison, where he continues to serve his five-year sentence on a charge of vehicular homicide in Ohio, with 1-3 years of post-release control to follow. The state charge cannot be pardoned on the federal level.
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'The President of the United States has the power to pardon federal sentences but has no jurisdiction over state charges,' said a spokesperson for the prosecutor's office. 'Mr. Shuler will have to serve his sentence for his charges here in Franklin County unless the governor, who has the power to pardon state charges, were to pardon him.
Bryan and Teresa Wright also told NBC4 that Shuler's pardon only includes his involvement on Jan. 6, 2021, and does not impact his vehicular homicide sentence.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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