Two South Florida divers, previously convicted of theft after releasing 19 sharks and a giant grouper from a longline, have been granted a pardon by President Donald Trump. Tanner Mansell and John Moore Jr., who had initially thought they were dismantling an illegal fishing operation, were pardoned last Wednesday, as reported by NBC Miami. Their convictions from 2022, following the August 2020 incident, barred them from voting, owning firearms, and limited their international travel.
While the pardons have now fully restored their rights, the decision to pardon the men has garnered attention due to the nature of their convictions. “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,” Marc Seitles, Moore's attorney, said in a statement obtained by NBC Miami. They were sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay $3,345 in restitution for the lost equipment and marine life, according to information from USA TODAY.
The longline in question belonged to a fisherman legally licensed by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration to catch sharks for research purposes. Moore and Mansell, however, believed it to belong to an illegal poaching operation. This led them to report their find to state wildlife officials and ultimately to their prosecution and conviction. "This case never should have been filed," argued Ian Goldstein, Mansell's attorney, citing an honest mistake by the defendants in their efforts to protect marine life, as reported by NBC Miami.
The case, which brought forth questions on government overreach, had previously been scrutinized during an 11th Circuit Court of Appeals hearing in 2024. With a pardon in hand, Mansell expressed his gratitude, "Whether people believe in his politics or not, he chose to pardon me — somebody who deeply cares for the environment and only ever wanted to help," in his text message, which was relayed by USA TODAY. Yet, despite their intentions, the court maintained that under federal law, their acts still constituted the intentional taking of property that wasn’t theirs.
Defense lawyers have long maintained that the duo's actions were motivated solely by their concern for marine conservation. With the pardons now issued and the felony convictions erased, both Moore and Mansell hold the ability to return to their full status as citizens, with the rights to vote and travel freely internationally, ultimately marking the end of a prolonged legal battle over their disputed actions in 2020.
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