Prospect of Pardons in Final Days Fuels Market to Buy Access to Trump reads the headline in the New York Times this morning.  The story is about people paying large sums to get their pardon applications considered.  The most vocal pardon seeker I know of is Kent Hovind. Kent is an Independent Baptist minister.  His primary ministry is focused on Young Earth Creationism – the notion that there is scientific support for a hyper-literal reading of Genesis.  One of the implications of YEC is that humans and dinosaurs must have coexisted.  Combined with a somewhat dubious PhD this earns Hovind the title of Doctor Dino.

Hovind And Conspiracy Theories

Hovind was convicted of tax related crimes in 2006.  They related to how he was running Dinosaur Adventureland in Pensacola.  Since release in 2015 he has set up a new Dinosaur Adventureland in Lenox AL and he has become something of a Youtube personality.

Embrace of YEC involves the acceptance of a pretty outrageous conspiracy theory.  Large swathes of the scientific community have to be corrupt or misled for YEC to be true – biology, geology and astronomy among others.  Hovind rarely sees a conspiracy theory he doesn’t like just a little although it is worth noting that he did not embrace geocentrism and flat earth much to the chagrin of some of his supporters.

So I was not surprised when on December 4, he embraced the notion that the 2020 election was stolen and speculated that he would connect that to his “Kent Hovind is innocent” project.  There are two prongs to the effort.  One is litigation and the other is seeking a pardon.

The Latest

Recently Kent has linked his support for the stolen election narrative more closely to his pardon efforts. In Dr. Kent Hovind – Whack An Atheist – Inspiring  around 1:29 his supporters are asked to write: Dear President Trump, Please grant a pardon for Kent and Jo Hovind in the totally unjust 2006 case ………………

He also refers to the lack of progress in his half billion lawsuit as something else for the President to look into.  He gets Paul John Hansen to weigh in on that.

In Dr. Kent Hovind – Biblical Submission on January 11 starting around 2.23  the pardon reach out is there

Kent continues asking President Trump to grant a pardon before he leaves – “He may not be leaving”.  That leads right into a discussion of Dominion Voting “changing the way people vote”.  For what it is worth the Dominion logo Hovind shows is not what is on Dominion’s site.  Hovind shows a logo of a red ballot going in and a blue ballot going out.  Here is a fact check on that dated November 30.

Logo is not real

The current logo on Dominion Voting Systems’ website and archived versions of the site reveal that the graphic is fake and does not show the company’s authentic logo.

Dominion’s logo, which is visible on the top left-hand corner of its website and on LinkedIn, does show a red ballot going into a red ballot box, however, there is no blue ballot coming out, as claimed. 

“This is their logo off the internet.  This is what they are doing.” says Kent.  I am inclined to give Kent the benefit of the doubt and not accuse him of lying, but rather of spreading a lie.  Actually it is possible that the origin is satirical.  I have not tried to trace it back further.  If it were not for it being something that may have helped prompt people to storm the capital, it is kind of funny.

Why A Pardon Is Important

A federal felony conviction has implications even after you are done with your sentence.  This article by Smith & Kramer PC gets into them.  Of the various thing things mentioned among them being voting and jury service, there is only one that really stands out to me as of likely interest to Hovind

Firearms. A federal felony conviction bars, under federal law, obtaining, receiving, transporting, or possessing any firearm or ammunition. 18 U.S.C. Section 921(a)(3). Subject to a very restricted exception for convictions under antitrust, restraint of trade, and unfair trade practices. 18 U.S.C. Section 921(20)(A). This ban continues permanently unless one of three events occurs. The first is a presidential pardon, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)(1). Regulations regarding executive clemency by pardon are at 28 C.F.R. Section 1.1, 1.2. An application should not be made until five years after release from custody or, if not jailed, from conviction. A seven-year wait is prescribed for tax, controlled substance, weapon, large fraud, public corruption, and violent crime offenses. A waiver of the waiting period may be granted to an alien seeking a pardon in order to avoid deportation. There is an investigation process which takes some time. Very few pardons are granted by presidential pardon.

Hovind’s convicted felon status prevents DAL from being a Second Amendment haven.

It’s just a guess, but that seems like the big attraction.  He is too old to enlist is the Space Force.