Trump announces pardons for pollution violators prosecuted for “fixing their car”

President Trump on Friday announced pardons for six people whom he said had been wrongfully prosecuted for “fixing their car” in what he called an act of “weaponization and stupidity” by federal prosecutors.

“I AM SETTING THEM ALL FREE, RIGHT NOW!,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

The White House did not immediately provide a list of the names of the six defendants pardoned. Earlier on Friday, CBS News was the first to report that Mr. Trump planned to pardon defendants who were prosecuted for tampering with air pollution control equipment in vehicles, in violation of the Clean Air Act.

The pardons come after Mr. Trump last fall granted clemency to Troy Lake, a Wyoming mechanic who served seven months in prison for violating federal emissions laws for disabling air pollution-control equipment on diesel engines.

Earlier this year, the Justice Department ordered prosecutors to drop all pending prosecutions and investigations related to so-called aftermarket defeat devices, which are used to disable emission controls.