Trump pardons 2 divers who freed 19 sharks off the coast of Florida

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MIAMI (AP) — Two South Florida shark divers convicted of theft for freeing 19 sharks and a giant grouper from a fisherman's longline several miles from shore have been pardoned by President Donald Trump.

Pardons for Tanner Mansell and John Moore Jr. were signed Wednesday. They had been convicted in 2022 of theft of property within special maritime jurisdiction.

The two men avoided prison time, but they were ordered to pay $3,343.72 in restitution, and the felony convictions prevented them from voting in Florida, owning firearms and traveling freely outside the U.S.

“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.”

Moore, who was captain of a shark-diving charter boat, and Mansell, a crew member, spotted the longline about 3 miles (5 kilometers) off the Jupiter Inlet in August 2020, according to court records. Believing it was an illegal fishing line, the men freed the sharks and grouper, reported it to state wildlife officials and brought the line back to shore.

Federal prosecutors later charged the men with theft. Officials said the line actually belonged to a fisherman licensed by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration to catch sharks for research.

Mansell and Moore were convicted by a jury, and their appeals were later denied. The full and unconditional pardons signed by Trump erase those convictions.

“This case never should have been filed,” Mansell's attorney, Ian Goldstein, said in a statement. “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.”