Commuted Jan 6 defendants barred from DC, Capitol building by federal judge

A federal district judge issued an order Friday barring certain Jan. 6 defendants with commutations from entering Washington, D.C., or the U.S. Capitol building. 

In the filing, Judge Amit P. Mehta specified the order applied to “Defendants Stewart Rhodes, Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins, Roberto Minuta, Edward Vallejo, David Moerchel, and Joseph Hacket,” whose sentences were commuted. 

Those pardoned are not subject to the order.

The order states “You must not knowingly enter the District of Columbia without first obtaining the permission from the Court” and “You must not knowingly enter the United States Capitol Building or onto surrounding grounds known as Capitol Square.”

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The filing says the order is effective as of Friday at noon. 

Rhodes, founder of Oath Keepers, was previously seen in the Capitol complex’s Longworth House office building. He was convicted of seditious conspiracy.

President Donald Trump pardoned nearly all Jan. 6 defendants earlier this week, after promising to do so at his inaugural parade.

Trump signed off on releasing more than 1,500 charged with crimes stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol on Monday. The order required the Federal Bureau of Prisons to act immediately on receipt of the pardons.

Those pardoned in his initial order included Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys chairman, who faced a sentence of 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy.

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Several prominent figures on the Hill came after Trump and his decision to pardon the defendants. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters the pardons were “deeply un-American.”

“There is no other way to describe President Trump’s pardon of Jan. 6th defenders than un-American,” Schumer said. “It is so deeply un-American to do that, to pardon. And let’s be clear, President Trump didn’t just pardon protesters. He pardoned individuals convicted of assaulting police officers. He pardoned individuals convicted of seditious conspiracy. And he pardoned those who attempted to undermine our democracy.” 

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Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called Trump’s pardon “shameful,” and “a betrayal” to those police officers “who put their lives on the line to stop an attempt to subvert the peacefyl transfer of power.”

“The President’s actions are an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma as they protected the Capitol, the Congress and the Constitution,” Pelosi said in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.  

Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy and Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.