‘Openly glorified insurrection’: Judges slap down requests from Jan. 6 defendants to attend Trump inauguration, saying it would ‘not be appropriate’ or safe

Left: Russell Taylor at the Capitol on Jan. 6 (Department of Justice). Center: A photo that DOJ prosecutors say is Christopher Belliveau inside the U.S. Capitol (Department of Justice). Right: A photo that DOJ prosecutors say is Thomas Tatum at the U.S. Capitol (Department of Justice).

Left: Russell Taylor at the Capitol on Jan. 6 (Department of Justice). Center: A photo that DOJ prosecutors say is Christopher Belliveau inside the U.S. Capitol (Department of Justice). Right: A photo that DOJ prosecutors say is Thomas Tatum at the U.S. Capitol (Department of Justice).

A Jan. 6 rioter who enlisted the help of his Mormon lawmaker “friends” to try and get permission to attend Donald Trump‘s inauguration has been denied, along with a man from Maine who is accused of wielding a hockey stick and a bullhorn during the 2021 attack and a Mississippi defendant who allegedly harassed cops with a flagpole.

Russell Taylor, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to obstruction of an official proceeding — a charge that the Supreme Court ruled in June was wrongly applied to Jan. 6 defendants — had his request shot down on Friday by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, a Ronald Reagan appointee. Taylor, a California resident with ties to Utah, is on probation for storming the U.S. Capitol with a knife, bear spray, hatchet and other weapons.

Maine resident Christopher Belliveau, who has pleaded not guilty to his Jan. 6 charges, was denied Thursday by U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee. Thomas Eugene Tatum, also known as Tommy Tatum, of Mississippi, had his request struck down Saturday by U.S. District Judge John Bates, a George W. Bush appointee, as he faces charges for felony civil disorder by obstructing, impeding, or interfering with law enforcement officers engaged in official duties, as well as other misdemeanors.

Taylor had received help from his Mormon lawmaker buddies to get the Jan. 20 green light, with them asking Lamberth to grant him permission to go back to Washington in a letter. Taylor’s attorney, Dyke E. Huish, pointed out how he quickly admitted guilt and cooperated with federal authorities to put members of the extremist Three Percenters militia group behind bars by testifying against them.

Belliveau filed a motion last month claiming his lack of a violent past warrants a modification of his conditions of release. Tatum, who has made headlines for harassing officers at Jan. 6 trials and attending “prayer vigils” held at a jail outside of Washington where Jan. 6 defendants have been locked up, asked to attend as a “journalist” — saying he attended congressional hearings and court proceedings in the past without being denied access.

Justice Department prosecutors argued against allowing all three of the defendants to attend, saying it would be inappropriate and unsafe.

“Mr. Taylor’s cooperation and good conduct while on probation do not diminish the seriousness of his acts on January 6, 2021, to which he has voluntary admitted, nor do they entitle him to the permission he now seeks,” Lamberth wrote in his Jan. 3 order denying Taylor’s request, which was viewed by Law&Crime.

“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 ‘insurrection’ against the United States.”

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