Trump Pardons Two More Alaska Diesel Shop Owners in Clean Air Act Cases, Extending a Pattern of Emissions-Tampering Clemency
ANALYSIS · October 14, 2026
Slug: trump-pardons-alaska-diesel-mechanics-clean-air-act
Package note: This analysis draws first on the Justice Department’s clemency list, the Spurlock pardon warrant, and U.S. Attorney’s Office (District of Alaska) releases from 2022 and 2023. The October 13, 2026, pardons of Zachary Czubak and Patrick Fleming are reported by news outlets but do not yet appear on DOJ’s clemency list, which was last updated September 9, 2026. A pardon forgives a federal offense; it is not a finding that the conduct was lawful.
Primary sources
- DOJ Office of the Pardon Attorney, “Clemency Grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-Present)”: https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present
- Executive Grant of Clemency, United States v. Spurlock, 3:23-CR-109 (D. Alaska): https://www.justice.gov/pardon/media/1451221/dl?inline
- USAO District of Alaska, “Co-Owners of Arm Rippin Toys Plead Guilty to Clean Air Act Violation” (Nov. 9, 2022): https://www.justice.gov/usao-ak/pr/co-owners-arm-rippin-toys-plead-guilty-clean-air-act-violation
- USAO District of Alaska, “Former co-owners of Matanuska Diesel charged with Clean Air Act violations” (Nov. 20, 2023): https://www.justice.gov/usao-ak/pr/former-co-owners-matanuska-diesel-charged-clean-air-act-violations
- USAO District of Alaska, “Co-owner of Wasilla auto shop sentenced for violating Clean Air Act” (Nov. 2, 2023): https://www.justice.gov/usao-ak/pr/co-owner-wasilla-auto-shop-sentenced-violating-clean-air-act
- Sen. Dan Sullivan, press release on the Spurlock pardon (July 2026): https://www.sullivan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sullivan-welcomes-presidential-pardon-for-wasilla-diesel-mechanic-unjustly-prosecuted-by-the-epa/
- Reporting on the October 13 pardons: CBS News (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-pardons-auto-workers-alaska-rally-clean-air-act/), USA Today (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/10/13/trump-pardon-alaskan-mechanics-emissions/92241806007/), Alaska News (https://alaskanews.com/c/alaska-news/trump-pardons-two-anchorage-diesel-shop-owners-onstage-at-wasilla-campaign-rally)
At a campaign rally in Wasilla on October 13, President Trump signed pardons onstage for Zachary Czubak and Patrick Fleming, according to CBS News, USA Today and Alaska News. The two are co-owners of Arm Rippin Toys, Inc., an Anchorage diesel repair shop, and pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act. The President described them as “Wasilla truckers,” but DOJ records identify them as Anchorage shop owners. Their pardons follow earlier ones for three other Alaska diesel mechanics: Mackenzie “Mac” Spurlock of Wasilla in July, and Arm Rippin co-owner Michael Hanzuk II and Wasilla shop owner Daniel Chase in September.
Core Tension
Supporters say these mechanics were punished for keeping trucks running in extreme cold. The prosecutions, as DOJ described them, were about removing emissions controls and reprogramming diagnostics on dozens to hundreds of vehicles for pay. Arm Rippin Toys altered at least 37 vehicles and collected about $100,000; Chase’s shop altered at least 144 trucks and earned more than $349,000. No one in these Alaska cases went to prison. The sentences were probation and fines of $32,000 to $66,000. The pardons remove those convictions but do not change the underlying EPA rules. The two newest pardons are not yet on DOJ’s official clemency list, so their exact terms are known only from news reports.
The cases
| Person | Case and conduct (DOJ) | Sentence | Pardon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mackenzie Scott Spurlock, Wasilla (Matanuska Diesel LLC) | U.S. v. Spurlock, 3:23-CR-109 (D. Alaska). Indicted 2023 with a co-owner and the company on one conspiracy count and nine tampering counts, for conduct from July 2020 to June 2022 | Five years’ probation, $32,000 fine (Dec. 3, 2025), for tampering with a Clean Air Act monitoring device | July 3, 2026; full and unconditional (DOJ list and warrant) |
| Michael Wayne Hanzuk II (Arm Rippin Toys, Anchorage) | Removed pollution controls and tampered with monitoring devices on at least 37 vehicles, July 2019 – Sept. 2020 | Five years’ probation with six months’ home confinement, $66,000 fine (Aug. 31, 2022) | Sept. 3, 2026 (DOJ list) |
| Daniel Aaron Chase, Wasilla (DC 907 Diesels LLC) | “Deleting and tuning” at least 144 diesel trucks starting in 2017 | Three years’ probation, $50,000 fine (Nov. 2, 2023) | Sept. 3, 2026 (DOJ list) |
| Zachary John Czubak (Arm Rippin Toys) | Same case as Hanzuk; pleaded guilty to conspiracy | Five years’ probation, $66,000 fine, 180 hours of community service (DOJ 2022) | Oct. 13, 2026, onstage at the rally (news reports); not yet on DOJ list |
| Patrick Thomas Fleming (Arm Rippin Toys) | Same case; pleaded guilty to conspiracy | Awaiting sentencing as of DOJ’s 2022 release; CBS reports five years’ probation and a $66,000 fine | Oct. 13, 2026, onstage (news reports); not yet on DOJ list |
Both sides
- The case for the pardons: Sen. Sullivan, who asked for Spurlock’s pardon in a March 12 letter, argues that federal diesel emissions equipment malfunctions in Alaska’s extreme cold. He says mechanics like Spurlock modified engines to keep vehicles safe and working in winter, and that EPA rules should account for cold-weather states. He also notes that the conviction cost Spurlock his gun rights and his chance to reenlist in the Alaska Air National Guard. At the rally, the President said the men were wrongly charged, according to CBS News.
- The case behind the prosecutions: DOJ and EPA said removing emissions controls sharply increases pollution. The 2022 release estimates removal raises particulate matter about 40 times and nitrogen oxides about 310 times. In the Chase case, EPA said the altered trucks would put more than 144 tons of nitrogen oxides and more than a ton of particulate matter into the Mat-Su Valley, which it said already struggles with air quality.
The broader pattern
On July 3, 2026, alone, DOJ’s list shows pardons for 9 people and 6 companies in diesel emissions-tampering cases from Washington, Oregon, North Carolina, Michigan, Idaho, the District of Columbia and Alaska. With the September and October grants, Alaska alone now accounts for five such pardons. Taken together, the grants amount to a consistent use of clemency for this category of Clean Air Act prosecution. No executive order or formal policy announcing that approach was located.
What a pardon does
A presidential pardon forgives the federal offense and restores rights lost with the conviction, such as the right to own firearms. It does not erase the court record, declare the conduct lawful, or change the Clean Air Act or EPA’s rules on emissions tampering.
Claims check
| Claim | Assessment | Receipt |
|---|---|---|
| Czubak and Fleming are “Wasilla truckers” | Inaccurate | DOJ identifies them as co-owners of an Anchorage diesel repair shop |
| They were pardoned October 13 | Reported by CBS, USA Today, Alaska News | Not yet on DOJ’s clemency list (last updated Sept. 9) |
| Spurlock was pardoned in July | Verified | DOJ list and warrant: July 3, 2026 |
| The men faced 10 years in prison | Not supported by DOJ records | DOJ cites a five-year maximum for the conspiracy charge; actual sentences were probation |
How coverage splits
Not reviewed for this analysis.
Context / what to watch
- DOJ clemency list: Whether and when the Czubak and Fleming warrants are posted.
- EPA rules: Whether the agency changes its emissions-tampering rules for cold-weather states, as Sen. Sullivan has urged.
- Politics: The rally supported Sen. Sullivan’s reelection race against Democrat Mary Peltola (CBS News).
Publish-ready ANALYSIS · written by KVOp from DOJ clemency records and USAO-AK releases, with attributed reporting · 2026-10-14 · for /analysis/trump-pardons-alaska-diesel-mechanics-clean-air-act