Trump grants pardons to 'persecuted' mechanics in right-to-repair crackdown: 'I am setting them all free'
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President Donald Trump on Friday announced full executive pardons for six people he claims were "persecuted" by the Biden administration for simply "fixing their car."
In a Truth Social post Friday afternoon, the president took aim at federal prosecutions he characterized as part of the "Weaponization and Stupidity" of the prior administration, saying, "I AM SETTING THEM ALL FREE, RIGHT NOW!"
The pardons align with Trump’s broader push to defend the "right to repair."
Earlier in the week, he signed a presidential memo designed to make it easier for Americans to repair their own vehicles by protecting self-repair rights and opening up options for aftermarket parts.
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"It came to my attention because I noticed they were arresting people for fixing their car," Trump said during an Oval Office news conference. "We rule by common sense."
The executive clemency is seemingly linked to a federal environmental case involving Elite Diesel Service Inc. and its owner, Troy Lake Sr.
Lake received a full and unconditional pardon Nov. 7, 2025, wiping away his conviction in the case United States v. Elite Diesel Service, Inc. et al.
According to federal plea agreements, Elite Diesel had instructed employees to disable computerized on-board diagnostic systems on at least 344 heavy-duty commercial trucks between January 2017 and December 2020.
The diagnostic systems are federally mandated under the Clean Air Act to monitor emissions control systems.
Lake was sentenced on Dec. 5, 2024, to more than a year in prison and a $2,500 fine. The company was put on probation for five years, ordered to pay a fine of $37,500 and required to make a $12,500 payment to a Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment program designed to repair emissions systems for low-income drivers.
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Government prosecutors also argued that Elite Diesel's co-conspirators, other diesel truck garages and fleets, hired Lake's company to manipulate the computers so that emission system malfunctions would go undetected, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado.
The EPA’s sprawling investigation ultimately swept up eight alleged co-conspirator garages and fleets across seven states, including Kansas, North Dakota and Oklahoma.
The businesses were ordered to pay heavy fines and fund local community service projects, such as buying clean school buses or electric groundskeeping equipment to offset environmental impacts, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
At the time, Biden administration officials defended the criminal prosecutions as essential for public health.
EPA Criminal Investigation Division Special Agent Lance Ehrig accused the defendants of leading a "large-scale conspiracy" that "diminished air quality."
A study cited by the prosecution claimed the tampered trucks collectively released more than 1,300 tons of excess nitrogen oxides and other pollutants into the air.
The Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney website has not yet been updated to list the people granted clemency by the president on Friday.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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