BACK ON THE PROWL

Trump Pardons Florida Divers Who Set 19 Sharks Free

The two men freed the fish from what they believed was an illegal fishing line around 3 miles off the coast of Florida.

President Donald Trump has pardoned two divers who set 19 sharks free off the coast of Florida.

Tanner Mansell and John Moore Jr. received full and unconditional pardons for their 2022 convictions for theft on Wednesday.

In Aug. 2020, Mansell and Moore freed 19 sharks and a giant grouper caught on a long line around 3 miles off the Jupiter Inlet that they believed was an illegal fishing line. The line was actually licensed by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration to ensnare sharks for research purposes.

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After freeing the fish, Mansell and Moore removed the long line, took it back to shore, and reported what they had done to state wildlife officials.

“We never stopped fighting, and justice has finally prevailed,” Moore’s attorney, Marc Seitles, said in a statement. “We are thrilled the White House considered our arguments and determined this was an unjust prosecution. We could not be happier for John and Tanner.”

Mansell’s attorney, Ian Goldstein, said the “case never should have been filed.” He added: “These gentlemen made an honest mistake and were trying to save sharks from what they believed to be an illegal longline fishing setup. I can’t think of two individuals more deserving of a Presidential Pardon.”

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Federal prosecutors then charged Moore, the captain of a shark-diving charter boat, and Mansell, a crew member, with theft and they were convicted by a jury in 2022.

The pair avoided going to prison but were ordered to pay $3,343.72 in restitution, and banned from voting in Florida, owning a firearm, or traveling without restrictions outside the U.S.

Trump has a long history with sharks—and it was something he went on several bizarre rants about during his presidential campaign.

In one memorable rally, Trump said the Democrats wanted to make boats electric, though the party of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris had made no such suggestion.

Speaking at a rally in Las Vegas, Trump proffered an unlikely scenario in which the electric boat starts to sink while a shark circles mere yards from the vessel.

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He told the crowd he had asked a South Carolina businessman a hypothetical “would you rather?” question between getting electrocuted in the boat or jumping out of the vessel towards the shark.

Trump said the businessman told him, “no one has ever asked me that question,” and then told the crowd he would “take electrocution, every single time” over dying in a hypothetical shark attack.

Since his inauguration, Trump has pardoned a range of colorful characters, including MAGA supporters convicted over the Jan 6. attack on the Capitol, a sheriff who accepted bribes in a cash-for-badge scheme, a tax cheat, and a reality TV couple.

Last week the president was accused of making an “unforced error” over some of the pardons which have moved from being fueled by ideology to obvious corruption.

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