Pete Ricketts criticized over vote to pardon sexual assault convict

The Nebraska Values PAC has released a political advertisement targeting Republican Senator Pete Ricketts regarding his 2022 decision as governor to grant a pardon to John Arias. Arias was convicted of first-degree sexual assault following a 1993 attack on Jody Snogren.

While Arias had already been released from prison in 2008 after serving nearly 14 years, Ricketts cast the deciding vote on the state's Board of Pardons to grant the pardon in September 2022. The pardon resulted in Arias being removed from the state's sex offender registry and having his firearm rights restored.

In the advertisement, Snogren describes the impact of the decision, stating that the pardon ‘brought back all the nightmares’ and questioning why Ricketts chose to grant the pardon over her safety. The ad features audio from the 2022 hearing where Ricketts announced his vote to Arias.