Citizen groups sprang into action after Trump issued the pardons and commutations he had promised. Operation Airlift was launched. The volunteers then set their plans in motion. Heavin and a second Texas pilot, Joe Heartsill, spent 2 1/2 days executing Operation Airlift. From Jan. 21 to Jan. 23, they flew about 20 of the newly released home; Heavin and his wife, Diane, say their plane traversed 8,000 miles.
The volunteers ensured that the ex-prisoners “were warm and fed, with a hotel to go to, and a phone to reconnect to their families,” he said. Volunteers also provided transportation, including commercial airline tickets or flights via private jets, including one that Heavin owns.