Cameron Clapp

Cameron Clapp (born February 18, 1986) is an American athlete. As a triple amputee, he has become a motivational speaker, mentor to young amputees, and amputee activist. He is also an actor.

He has been characterized as the "quintessential California teenager" for "his blond hair, buff torso, and megawatt smile" albeit "on a pair of shiny, state-of-the-art robotic legs."

On February 13, 2024, Clapp was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Los Angeles for his role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack in Washington, D.C. Clapp was sentenced to probation on November 4, 2024. On January 20, 2025, the first day of the second presidency of Donald Trump, Clapp received a federal pardon along with nearly every other participant in the riot as part of Trump's pardon of January 6 United States Capitol attack defendants.

Amputation

Accident and recovery On September 15, 2001, at the age of 15, Clapp was hit by a high-speed Union Pacific freight train. He had been drinking at a ceremony commemorating victims of the September 11 attacks and was unable to remember passing out on a railroad track near his home in Atascadero, California. His blood alcohol content was found to be .229. His injuries required the amputation of both his legs above his knees and his right arm slightly below his shoulder.

Clapp underwent extensive rehabilitation at the Hanger Clinic. He mastered independent walking only five months after the accident, an exceptional accomplishment. He is quoted as saying, "I left the wheelchair five months after the accident and I don't want to have to use it again."

Prosthetics Clapp has used a series of increasingly advanced prosthetic limbs. for amputees. He is a certified peer visitor with the Amputee Coalition of America. He advocates breakthrough technologies as a means of shattering the barriers between the disabled and the mainstream.

Clapp has devoted hundreds of hours in counseling young amputees as to the endless possibilities of attaining mainstream functionality after life-altering loss of limbs. As part of this effort, he attends Camp No Limits in Maine, and mentors amputees such as Charlotte Cleverley-Bisman.

His amputee activism has included extensive visitation and counseling of returning veterans of the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan who have sustained the loss of limbs. This includes multiple appearances at Walter Reed Army Medical Center's "Warriors in Transition" program.

In November 2005 he was honored with a Shining Star award at the 58th annual Shining Star Awards Gala, an honor previously bestowed upon Christopher Reeve and Ray Charles. Sponsored by Just One Break Inc. (JOB), a national nonprofit organization founded in part by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1947

He is additionally an accomplished golfer.

His television roles have included Jake, the no-legged boyfriend of the one-legged Didi (played by Tracy Ashton) in NBC's My Name Is Earl. He also appeared in HBO's Carnivàle as the character of Management.

He portrayed a wounded service member in the 2008 feature film Stop-Loss. He also played the role of "The Total Package" in Comedy Central's Workaholics.

Legal issues On February 13, 2024, Clapp was arrested in Los Angeles by the FBI for his participation in the January 6 United States Capitol attack. On November 4, 2024, Clapp was sentenced to probation. On January 20, 2025, the first day of the second presidency of Donald Trump, Clapp was pardoned along with nearly every other participant in the riot.

Personal life Cameron Clapp was born on February 18, 1986, along with an identical twin brother named Jesse. Clapp lived in Arroyo Grande, California. On January 2, 2008, Jesse was found dead from a drug overdose in a home in Grover Beach, California.