WASHINGTON — A decide rejected a request from a Jan. 6 defendant to attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration after the person was invited by a former member of Congress, in keeping with a court docket order launched Friday.
The defendant, Russell Taylor, was accused of organizing a bunch of “fighters” to journey to D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021. In 2023, he pleaded responsible to obstructing an official continuing, and he went on to cooperate with the federal government by offering testimony towards the Three Percenters militia.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth mentioned in a Friday order that “the actual nature and severity of Mr. Taylor’s conduct on the Capitol Riots counsel towards giving him the permission to journey that he now seeks,” working by way of a listing of Taylor’s actions previous to and through the assault on the Capitol.
“To attend the Presidential Inauguration, which celebrates and honors the peaceable switch of energy, is an immense privilege,” Lamberth mentioned.
“It wouldn’t be applicable for the Court to grant permission to attend such a hallowed occasion to somebody who carried weapons and threatened cops in an try and thwart the final Inauguration, and who brazenly glorified ‘[i]nsurrection’ towards the United States,” he added.
When reached for remark, Taylor’s legal professional Dyke E. Huish mentioned that Taylor was “disillusioned” however has the “utmost respect” for the decide and his selections.
Lamberth “has continued to deal with my shopper with respect and given him honest consideration,” Huish mentioned in a press release. “While this ruling is disappointing, as my shopper is a big supporter of president elect Trump, he does perceive the court docket denial of his request.”
Huish added that Taylor will watch the inauguration on tv at residence, noting that they don’t have plans to enchantment the decide’s choice.
A spokesperson for the U.S. legal professional’s workplace for D.C. referred to prosecutors’ earlier filings. The workplace filed a movement in December opposing Taylor’s request to journey to D.C., urging the court docket to “not look previous his prison conduct the final time he was on Capitol grounds.”
Former Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, wrote in a December letter to the decide that he and three present members of the Utah congressional delegation have been inviting Taylor to the inauguration, although Stewart didn’t specify which representatives have been extending the invitation.
“He is admired by many, and particularly these in his group. Russ’ ardour for what is correct and good is mirrored in his intentions to raise others,” Stewart mentioned in his letter praising Taylor.
Huish filed a request on Dec. 11 asking Lamberth to permit Taylor to journey to Washington for the inauguration.
In his letter, Huish wrote that Taylor “has remained compliant with all Court Orders and has not given any indications of hassle or concern,” including that Taylor “has demonstrated time and again that he’s reliable in his journey.”
Taylor’s sentence required him to get permission earlier than leaving components of California, the place he lives. Taylor had been sentenced to intervals of probation and residential confinement.
In his Friday order, Lamberth famous that Taylor had taken “accountability for his actions and furnished in depth help to the Government,” each causes for his lighter sentence in comparison with these of different Jan. 6 defendants.
“But Mr. Taylor’s cooperation and good conduct whereas on probation don’t diminish the seriousness of his acts on January 6, 2021, to which he has voluntary admitted, nor do they entitle him to the permission he now seeks,” Lamberth mentioned.
Taylor will not be the one Jan. 6 defendant to hunt permission to journey to the inauguration. Other defendants who’ve put in requests embrace Christopher Belliveau, whose request was denied; Eric Peterson, whose request was granted; and William Pope, who has not but acquired a call on his request, in keeping with court docket data.