Judges allow some Capitol riot defendants to return to DC for Trump’s inauguration
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol after he lost the 2020 presidential election. Four years later, some of them are allowed to return to the nation’s capital so they can celebrate Trump’s return to the White House.
At least 20 defendants charged with or convicted of joining the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol have asked federal judges for permission to attend President-elect Trump’s second inauguration Monday in Washington, D.C., according to an Associated Press review of court records.
The majority can go. Several others cannot.
In most cases, Justice Department prosecutors have argued that Capitol riot defendants shouldn’t be able to return to the scene of their crimes while they’re under the court’s supervision.
“What’s past is prologue, and the defendants could easily find themselves in another situation where they engage in mob violence,” a prosecutor wrote in opposing a New York couple’s travel request.
At least 11 defendants have received the court’s permission to attend the inauguration, a day when Trump may issue mass pardons to Capitol rioters. Judges have denied requests made by at least seven others.
Many other convicted Capitol rioters may be free to attend if they have completed their sentences. Typically, those who remain under the court’s supervision after an arrest, a probation sentence or release from prison must get a judge’s approval to travel outside their home district.
Among those who can attend is Deborah Lynn Lee, a Pennsylvania woman accused of posting social media messages calling for the execution of her political opponents in the days leading up to the riot. Lee was charged in August 2021, was convicted of four misdemeanors after a trial in October and is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 27.
Justice Department prosecutor Carlos Valdivia argued that Lee’s return to Washington would endanger Capitol police officers and “create an absurd situation.”
“Lee’s presence in D.C. was restricted for years to keep the community safe, but in a few days, she would be allowed to return to attend a ceremony that demands heightened security,” Valdivia wrote.
Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui approved Lee’s request, noting that she isn’t accused of engaging in violence and has complied with her release conditions. The magistrate said Lee “is coming to celebrate, not demonstrate” this time.
“While the Court is tasked with predicting the future, this is not ‘Minority Report.’ There has to be credible evidence of future danger to justify related release conditions,” Faruqui wrote.
District Judge John Bates agreed to let a New York couple, Carol Moore and Kevin Moore, attend the inauguration while awaiting a trial in April. Prosecutors argued that police officers could be “retraumatized” by the Moores’ presence, but Bates said it was unlikely that any officers at the inauguration would recognize them.
“First, past is not prologue here,” the judge wrote. “The nature of the inauguration is wholly different from the last event the Moores attended that involved the transition of power. Put simply, the inauguration will involve a crowd largely supporting the peaceful transition of power, not opposing it.”
The couple’s attorney said the Moores plan to join others in displaying signs reading “Day One” — an appeal for Trump to make good on a campaign promise to pardon Capitol rioters on his first day back in office. Trump repeatedly has referred to Jan. 6 defendants as “hostages” and “patriots.”
The list of Jan. 6 riot defendants allowed to be in Washington on Monday also includes a New Jersey man who reported himself to the FBI, a New Hampshire woman who must serve a four-month prison sentence and a New Jersey man accused of using a bullhorn to encourage other rioters.
Prosecutors didn’t object to allowing Colorado bed-and-breakfast operator Rebecca Lavrenz — the self-described “J6 praying grandma” — to attend the inauguration while she is on probation. Lavrenz said her daughter is serving as the deputy director of Monday’s swearing-in ceremony after working on Trump’s campaign last year.
Among those barred from attending the inauguration are Jared Miller, a Virginia man charged with assaulting police. Miller’s attorney, Stephen Brennwald, said Monday’s inauguration presents a “completely different scenario” than the 2021 riot. The lawyer also argued that his client’s conduct that day is irrelevant to his travel request.
“No longer will the participants and observers be in the District out of anger, ready to fight to try to wrest back the power they felt had been unjustly taken from them. Rather, they will be cheering the person they support, and law enforcement will not be in an antagonistic position to those attending the event,” Brennwald wrote.
District Judge Rudolph Contreras denied Miller’s request, pointing to his assault charges.
Russell Taylor, a California man who had a knife and a hatchet in his possession when he helped other rioters overrun a police line outside the Capitol, said he was invited to attend the inauguration by former U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart, a six-term Utah Republican who resigned in 2023.
District Judge Royce Lamberth, who sentenced Taylor to six months of home detention, said it wouldn’t be appropriate to allow somebody who tried to thwart the last presidential inauguration to attend “such a hallowed event.”
“To attend the Presidential Inauguration, which celebrates and honors the peaceful transfer of power, is an immense privilege,” Lamberth wrote.
Judges also rejected the travel requests made by a North Carolina man who participated in the first act of violence against Capitol police on Jan. 6, a Mississippi man charged with assaulting officers with a flagpole and a Maine man accused of attacking police with bear spray.