President Donald Trump signed pardons for two Alaska diesel mechanics while onstage at a rally in Wasilla on Tuesday night, according to Fox News. The midterm rally featured announcements on infrastructure and energy investments in the state. He brought Zachary Czubak and Patrick Fleming, co-owners of an Anchorage diesel repair shop, onstage to formalize the clemency documents, as seen in a video on X.
The president also referenced an earlier pardon for Mackenzie “Mac” Spurlock, a diesel shop owner based in Wasilla. During the announcement, Trump told the crowd, “I’m giving each one of the three an unconditional pardon.” He argued that the prosecutions were unfair as the men’s work kept trucks running in Alaska’s extreme cold.
Czubak and Fleming pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act. However, the Biden Justice Department said the co-owners of Arm Rippin Toys faced charges for removing federally required emissions-control equipment and tampering with monitoring devices on at least 37 diesel vehicles. Prosecutors said the shop collected about $100,000 for the work.
Trump made a show of signing the pardons in front of the crowd
While signing the documents, Trump took a jab at the signature method Joe Biden previously used. Trump remarked, “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.” He seemed to enjoy the moment, telling the attendees, “What an honor. I love doing this stuff.”
“They want to put them in jail for 10 years because they fixed an engine,” Donald Trump told supporters. One of the mechanics thanked the president from the stage and described how the case affected him. He said, “It really did destroy us. It destroyed friendships. It destroyed families.”
Earlier this year, Trump pardoned nine people convicted of similar Clean Air Act violations, including Spurlock. He had already pardoned Wyoming mechanic Troy Lake for a similar offense last year. The Justice Department has since said it would stop pursuing criminal cases against these mechanics, although civil penalties remain possible.
The diesel cases join a growing list of clemency grants from the president, which already includes pardons for his allies and campaign donors. Trump has also reportedly promised mass pardons to administration officials before he leaves office, a remark the White House described as a joke.
Biden administration officials took a different view when the Arm Rippin Toys charges were announced. Prosecutors warned at the time that removing emissions controls “results in a massive increase in air pollution from even a single vehicle.” Czubak and Fleming’s pardons had not been posted on the Justice Department’s website as of Tuesday night.
Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan has pushed a bill that would require the Environmental Protection Agency to rewrite its emissions rule for cold climates. Sullivan and other critics of the equipment say it often fails in temperatures below 12 degrees. The legislation had not become law as of this summer.
Published: Oct 14, 2026 12:15 pm