USA: Judges allow Capitol riot defendants to return to Washington, DC

WASHINGTON: Thousands of Donald Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol after he lost the 2020 presidential election. Four years later, some of them are allowed to return to the nation's capital so they can celebrate Trump's return to the White House.

At least 20 defendants charged with or convicted of joining the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol have asked federal judges for permission to attend President-elect Trump's second inauguration Monday in Washington, DC.

The majority can go. Several others cannot.


In most cases, Justice Department prosecutors have argued that Capitol riot defendants shouldn't be able to return to the scene of their crimes while they're under the court's supervision.

"What's past is prologue, and the defendants could easily find themselves in another situation where they engage in mob violence," a prosecutor wrote in opposing a New York couple's travel request.

At least 11 defendants have received the court's permission to attend the inauguration, a day when Trump may issue mass pardons to Capitol rioters.

Judges have denied requests made by at least seven others. Many other convicted Capitol rioters may be free to attend if they have completed their sentences.