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WASHINGTON -- A federal judge on Friday barred Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes from entering Washington without the court's approval after President Donald Trump commuted the extremist group leader's 18-year prison sentence in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who oversaw the seditious conspiracy trial of Rhodes and other Oath Keepers, issued the order two days after Rhodes visited Capitol Hill, where he met with at least one lawmaker, chatted with others and defended his actions the day of the riot.
Mehta's order applies to seven other defendants who were charged in one of the most serious conspiracy cases brought by the Justice Department over the riot. The order also prohibits them from entering the Capitol building or surrounding grounds without the court's permission.
Rhodes, of Granbury, Texas, was released from prison hours after the Republican president's sweeping clemency action Monday benefiting the more than 1,500 people charged in the attack that halted the certification of Joe Biden's 2020 presidential election victory over Trump.
While Trump pardoned most of the defendants, he only commuted the prison sentences of Rhodes and 13 others. That means they remain on supervised release and have to follow certain restrictions set by the court under the supervision of a probation officer.