MIAMI (AP) — President Donald Trump has granted pardons to two South Florida shark divers who were convicted of theft after they freed 19 sharks and a giant grouper from a fisherman’s longline located several miles offshore.
The pardons for Tanner Mansell and John Moore Jr. were officially signed on Wednesday. In 2022, they were found guilty of theft of property within a special maritime jurisdiction.
Though they didn’t serve prison sentences, the two men were required to pay $3,343.72 in restitution. Additionally, their felony convictions had previously barred them from voting in Florida, possessing firearms, and traveling freely beyond 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.”
