Several other people accused of involvement in the Jan. 6 riot at the U. S. Capitol have asked federal judges to allow them to attend Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.

Trump has continually said that he will pardon the Jan. 6 rioters. At election rallies for the 2024 presidential election, he told supporters that the 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 Jan. 6 defendants as visitors to the inauguration. Their presence will help Trump’s additional ties to them and demonstrate their continued support for his presidency.

On December 28, an alleged rioter, William Alexander Pope, filed a “motion to attend the inauguration” before a federal ruling in Topeka, Kansas.

In March 2021, the same court prohibited Pope from traveling to Washington, D. C. , as a condition of his release on bail.

He wrote in his most recent motion: “I now ask the Court for permission to travel to Washington, D. C. , for the purpose of attending the presidential inauguration on January 20, 2025. I initially declined an invitation to attend the inauguration. possession (since it’s not like being in Washington). However, I have been asked for it for a moment and it is beside the point for me to reject this request. “

He adds that his will will be “completely peaceful. ”

In November, the Pope asked Rudolph Contreras, a federal judge in Washington, D. C. , to postpone his trial until after Trump’s inauguration, warning that “excessive use of government force can lead to a damaging cycle of escalation. ” of reprisals from the government”. continues replacing hands. “”.

The pope is awaiting trial on charges of civil disorder, trespassing, disorderly conduct and picketing the Capitol.

Also in December, a rioter convicted on Jan. 6 asked for permission to attend Trump’s inauguration.

A retired Republican congressman invited Russell Taylor to the inauguration and told the court that three members of Utah’s congressional delegation who attended the inauguration extended the same invitation.

Taylor was under space arrest for his role in the 2021 riots, in which he encouraged other Trump supporters to attack Capitol Police. He later cooperated with the FBI and testified against some other rioter.

On Dec. 19, a Missouri man who had pleaded guilty to entering the Capitol on Jan. 6 allowed the inauguration to attend.

The Washington, D. C. , federal ruling on Tanya Chutkan granted permission to Eric Peterson, who pleaded guilty in 2024 to “entering and remaining in a limited building or land” to 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.

“Jan. 6 defendant William Pope is asking for court permission to enter DC to attend Trump’s inauguration. He’s roughly the 5th or 6th defendant to request permission. Only one — a misdemeanor defendant — has been approved to attend so far,” 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.