Trump pardons two Alaska mechanics prosecuted under Biden for violating environmental rules at a rally: 'They want to put them in jail for 10 years because they fixed an engine. How sick!'

President Donald Trump used his rally on Tuesday in Wasilla, Alaska, to publicly sign a pardon for two diesel mechanics who pleaded guilty in 2022 to violating the Clean Air Act. He invited them onto the stage, criticized the Department of Justice under Joe Biden, and signed the documents as his supporters applauded.

According to a Fox News report, the beneficiaries are Zachary Czubak and Patrick Fleming, co-owners of Arm Rippin Toys, a repair shop in Anchorage. The Department of Justice said that between July 2019 and September 2020, the business removed emissions control equipment and tampered with monitoring devices on at least 37 diesel vehicles, charging about $100,000 for those services.

Trump defended the mechanics' work and portrayed the case as an abuse by the Biden administration, arguing that the modification kept the trucks running in the extreme cold of Alaska.

"They want to put them in jail for 10 years because they fixed an engine. How sick!" he told the crowd. He also extended the pardon to Mackenzie "Mac" Spurlock, owner of another diesel repair shop in Wasilla, whom he had previously pardoned.

As he signed the document, he took the opportunity to mock his predecessor for using an automatic signature.

"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 quipped.

One of the mechanics took the microphone to thank him and spoke about the personal toll the legal process had taken.

"It really did destroy us. It destroyed friendships. It destroyed families," he said.

This is not the first time the president has made a decision of this kind. In July, he pardoned nine people convicted of similar Clean Air Act violations.

The event was part of the Republican campaign ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, in which Sen. Dan Sullivan faces a tight re-election race against former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola. Trump also announced in Wasilla that an 800-mile natural gas pipeline, long awaited in the state, now has all the necessary federal permits.