Several people accused of involvement in the January 6 Capitol riot have asked federal judges to allow them to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
Trump has continually said that he will pardon the Jan. 6 rioters. At crusade rallies for the 2024 presidential election, he told supporters that jailed rioters were “Jan. 6 hostages” and not “Jan. 6 prisoners” and that he would get them out of prison.
Several Republican representatives invited the January 6 defendants as visitors to the inauguration. Their presence will strengthen Trump’s ties with them and demonstrate their continued support for his presidency.
On December 28, one alleged rioter, William Alexander Pope, filed a “motion to travel to the inauguration” before a federal judge in Topeka, Kansas.
In March 2021, the same barred the pope from traveling to Washington, D. C. , as a condition of his release on bail.
He wrote in his latest application: “I now move the Court for permission to travel to Washington, D.C., for the purpose of attending the presidential inauguration on January 20, 2025. Initially, I had declined an invitation to attend the inauguration (since I don’t enjoy being in Washington). However, I have now been asked a second time and I believe it would now be inappropriate for me to turn this request down.”
He adds that his will will be “completely peaceful. ”
In November, Pope asked a Washington, D.C., federal judge, Rudolph Contreras, to delay his trial until after the Trump inauguration, warning that “wielding extreme government force can lead to a dangerous cycle of escalating retribution as control of the government continues changing hands.”
The pope is awaiting trial on charges of civil disorder, trespassing, disorderly conduct and picketing the Capitol.
Also in December, a convicted January 6 rioter asked a court for permission to attend Trump’s inauguration.
A retired Republican congressman invited Russell Taylor to the inauguration and told the court that three other members of the inauguration’s Utah congressional delegation had all extended the same invitation.
Taylor was under house arrest for his part in the 2021 riot, during which he encouraged other Trump supporters to storm past Capitol police. He later cooperated with the FBI and testified against another rioter.
On Dec. 19, a Missouri man who had pleaded guilty to entering the Capitol on Jan. 6 allowed the inauguration to attend.
The federal trial in Washington, D. C. on Tanya Chutkan granted permission to Eric Peterson, who pleaded guilty in 2024 to “entering and remaining upon any building or bounded grounds” of the riot.
Peterson is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 27, a week after the inauguration.
Peterson was never charged with rioting, only with entering the Capitol, taking photographs and leaving.
Kyle Cheney, Politico’s legal affairs correspondent, wrote Sunday on X, formerly Twitter, that six of the Jan. 6 defendants had attended Trump’s inauguration.
“On January 6, defendant William Pope asked the court for permission to enter Washington to attend Trump’s inauguration. He is approximately the fifth or sixth defendant to request permission. Only one, a misdemeanor defendant, has been allowed to attend until now,” Cheney wrote. .
Peterson is the Jan. 6 defendant who has downloaded the warrant so far. The others ask permission to attend the Federal Court. If they download the authorization, it will be restricted. They will be allowed to stay in Washington, D. C. , for one or two nights before returning to their home country.
Sean O’Driscoll is an Ireland-based senior crime and court reporter for Newsweek. Its objective is to inform about American law. He has covered human rights and extremism extensively. Sean joined Newsweek in 2023 and has previously worked for The Guardian, The New York Times, BBC, Vice and others in the Middle East. He specialized in human rights issues in the Persian Gulf and led a three-month investigation into labor rights violations for the New York Times. In the past it was founded in New York for 10 years. He is a graduate of Dublin City University and is a qualified lawyer in New York and an Irish notary. You can reach Sean by emailing s. odriscoll@newsweek. com. Languages: English and French.