First felony J6 defendant is allowed to attend Trump inauguration

A federal judge on Tuesday approved a January 6 defendant's petition to travel to Washington, D.C., for President-elect Donald Trump's upcoming inauguration, making the defendant the first January 6 felony defendant to be allowed to attend. 

A different judge rejected another January 6 felony defendant's request to travel to the U.S. capital last week, but U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan approved a misdemeanor defendant's request last month.

U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras made the decision on Tuesday to allow defendant William Pope to travel and attend the inauguration on January 20, despite opposition from the Justice Department, which claimed Pope still posed a danger "to the D.C. community."

Contreras said he made the decision after listening to both sides, and considered “the fact that Mr. Pope is not charged with assault or vandalism- related charges," according to The Hill. 

The approval comes as Trump is expected to be sworn into office on Jan. 20. Trump is also expected to pardon many of the January 6 defendants, who stormed the Capitol to stop the certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election four years ago.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.