Judge rejects Jan. 6 defendant's request to attend Trump's inauguration
A judge rejected a request from a Jan. 6 defendant to attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration after the man was invited by a former member of Congress, according to a court document.
WASHINGTON — A judge rejected a request from a Jan. 6 defendant to attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration after the man was invited by a former member of Congress, according to a court order released Friday.
The defendant, Russell Taylor, was accused of organizing a group of "fighters" to travel to D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021. In 2023, he pleaded guilty to obstructing an official proceeding, and he went on to cooperate with the government by providing testimony against the Three Percenters militia.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said in a Friday order that "the particular nature and severity of Mr. Taylor’s conduct at the Capitol Riots counsel against giving him the permission to travel that he now seeks," running through a list of Taylor's actions prior to and during the attack on the Capitol.
"To attend the Presidential Inauguration, which celebrates and honors the peaceful transfer of power, is an immense privilege," Lamberth said.
"It would not be appropriate for the Court to grant permission to attend such a hallowed event to someone who carried weapons and threatened police officers in an attempt to thwart the last Inauguration, and who openly glorified '[i]nsurrection' against the United States," he added.
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