CNN
—
On Friday, days after President Donald Trump commuted his sentence, a federal judge ruled that several members of the far-right extremist group Oath Keepers could not enter Washington, D.C. or the U.S. Capitol grounds without court permission. announced that it could not be done.
A brief order by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta states that the group’s founder, Stewart Rhodes, and seven other Oath Keepers members “knowingly” visited the District of Columbia, “the U.S. Capitol, No one may enter the surrounding grounds without permission.” First, permission must be obtained from the court. ”
In addition to Rose, the new restrictions also apply to Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins, Roberto Minuta, Edward Vallejo, David Merchel and Joseph Hackett. Most of them were serving sentences on seditious conspiracy convictions until President Trump commuted their sentences within hours of taking office earlier this week.
President Trump also left open the possibility of pardoning them. The president on Monday pardoned more than 1,000 people charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Rose, who was serving an 18-year sentence after being released from prison earlier this week, was found at the Capitol on Wednesday. He told CNN he has no regrets for his actions that led to the indictment by the Biden Justice Department.
Ex-wife of Oath Keepers leader released from prison slams ‘lack of remorse’
“Well, I don’t regret standing up for my country. I don’t regret calling out an election that was stolen, illegal and unconstitutional,” he said.
In a dramatic U-turn, the Justice Department is now defending the January 6 defendants, arguing that the travel restrictions should be lifted.
“If a judge rules that Jim Biden, General Mark Milley, or anyone else is prohibited from visiting the nation’s capital, even after receiving a last-minute preemptive pardon from the former president, most The American people will object. The individuals mentioned in our motion have had their sentences commuted to the end of their sentences,” Interim U.S. Attorney Edward Martin said in a statement.
Martin’s filing argues that the restrictions should be lifted because the eight men’s supervised release and probation conditions were part of their sentences commuted by the president.
“The court cannot change the conditions of supervised release,” Martin wrote in the filing, adding that as a result of President Trump’s executive action, those conditions are no longer in effect.
