One year ago, Troy Lake was on his second week in federal prison.
He spent seven months there, including his 65th birthday and 40th wedding anniversary, for deleting emissions systems from ailing diesel engines.
On Tuesday, Lake joined U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming, at President Donald Trump's State of the Union address in Washington, DC.
That’s after Lummis championed his cause — and Trump pardoned him Nov. 7.
Then Trump’s U.S. Department of Justice announced in January that while diesel “delete” mechanics may still face civil penalties, the federal department would stop pursuing criminal cases against them.
“Yeah, I’m excited,” Lake told Cowboy State Daily ahead of the president’s speech. “It’s just crazy how things like this are going.”
He said he didn’t know how much he’d be able to garner interest in the cause of other small business owners like himself, though he hoped to do so.
He pointed to Lummis’ proposed legislation to free imprisoned delete mechanics and Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan’s bill to require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to update its regulations to account for how diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) can make engines falter in cold weather.
Many diesel mechanics were prosecuted after the federal government tilted five years ago during the Biden administration from civil to criminal enforcement against them.
“My biggest thing is obviously thanking Senator Lummis, and President Trump,” said Lake.
He said he felt badly accepting the invitation to the speech because he wanted recognition, rather, for “all the people who helped me get the pardon.”
Picking Up Engines
Lake said Lummis’ senior communications advisor Joe Jackson called to invite him last Wednesday night.
He was supposed to go to Nevada to pick up four engines, and maybe a transmission, as part of rebuilding the business his criminal prosecution reduced to what his defense attorney once called “a shadow of its former self.”
Not to worry, said Lake: He’ll pick up the engines next week.
‘Thrilled’
Lummis told Cowboy State Daily in a statement Tuesday that she was “thrilled” to welcome Lake to Washington, D.C.
“Troy is a hardworking American who was unfairly targeted by the Biden Justice Department, simply for maintaining diesel engines in school buses, ambulances and fire trucks to keep them operational in Wyoming’s harsh climate,” said Lummis. “President Trump made the right call in pardoning him.”
Issuing the statement before the speech, Lummis said she and Lake were looking forward to it.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
