Federal judge allows January 6 defendant to attend Trump's inauguration

Source: CNN Politics

Published 11:11 PM EST, Thu December 19, 2024


CNN — A Missouri man who pleaded guilty to entering the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, will be allowed to attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next month, a federal judge ordered Thursday.

Judge Tanya Chutkan, who oversaw the federal election subversion case against Trump, also authorized Eric Peterson, who pleaded guilty this fall to “entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds” during the riot, to travel more broadly within the Kansas City metropolitan area.

Peterson is slated to be sentenced on January 27, a week after Trump takes the oath of office on the Capitol grounds. In addition to whatever sentence he receives, Peterson must also pay $500 in restitution to the Architect of the Capitol, according to his plea agreement. According to the statement of offense, Peterson, wearing a bright pink shirt, entered the Capitol at approximately 3:02 p.m. on January 6, took pictures in the Rotunda and left the building by 3:11 p.m.

Peterson’s attorney, Michael Bullotta, highlighted the short length of time in a filing earlier this week, adding that his client “was not alleged to have done anything related to assault or vandalism” and that Peterson’s offense “was entering and remaining in the Capitol for about 8 minutes without proper authorization.” The attorney also noted that Peterson is a military veteran without prior criminal history.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/19/politics/judge-allows-january-6-defendant-attend-trump-inauguration/index.html