A request that a California man convicted in the Jan. 6 insurrection be allowed to attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration with three of Utah’s members of Congress, according to a letter written by former Rep. Chris Stewart, is “outrageous,” the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., said in a court filing.
Russell Taylor — who currently is on probation after pleading guilty to obstructing an official proceeding and was sentenced in May to six months home detention and three years probation — should not be allowed “to return to the scene of the crime,” wrote Matthew Graves, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia in a memo last month, urging the court to “not look past his criminal conduct the last time he was on Capitol grounds.”
“While Taylor has pleaded guilty, taken a cooperative posture, and been compliant with the conditions of probation to date, his request to be afforded the privilege of attending the Presidential Inauguration is meritless; moreover, the request itself is outrageous in light of the nature and seriousness of the defendant’s crime, which centered on the defendant’s efforts to prevent the peaceful transfer of power only four years ago,” Graves said.
It is unclear which three members of Utah’s federal delegation Stewart was referring to in his letter to federal District Judge Royce Lamberth last month asking for Taylor to have permission to travel to Washington. Spokespeople for three of Utah’s six members of Congress at the time — Sen. Mitt Romney, Rep. John Curtis and Rep. Blake Moore — previously told The Salt Lake Tribune that they did not give the invitation.
Government's Opposition to Defendant's Motion to Modify Conditions of Probation by Jeff Parrott on Scribd
Michael Kennedy’s chief of staff said the incoming congressman was not aware of the letter or any requests for inauguration tickets for Taylor.
A spokesperson for Rep. Celeste Maloy said the congresswoman “hasn’t issued any invitations to the inauguration yet,” but declined to comment when asked whether Maloy would offer a ticket if Taylor is allowed to travel. Questions sent to Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Burgess Owens went unanswered.
Stewart never responded to questions sent by a reporter. The former congressman described Taylor in his plea to the judge as “a man of integrity” who “reveres his family, his faith, and his love of our Country as his highest priority in life.”
Taylor’s attorney, Dyke Huish, said he didn’t know which members of Congress are offering Taylor the chance to observe the inauguration. Huish said Taylor “never had a relationship with the congressman [Stewart] until after he was sentenced,” emphasizing “not before.”
The pair were connected through a “close family friend,” Huish added, although he wouldn’t disclose who.
Lamberth has not yet made a decision on Taylor’s motion, which was submitted three weeks ago. The inauguration will take place Jan. 20 — with a Trump victory rally scheduled to be held the day prior.
Under the terms of Taylor’s release, he cannot leave the federal district where he lives in California unless he has permission from a judge or his probation officer. He has received permission to travel for work-related purposes.
The U.S. attorney described Taylor as a “leader” in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, and recounted messages on the social media app Telegram in which Taylor, “in his own words, ‘organize[d] a group of fighters.’” Taylor carried hatchets, stun batons and exposed knives on the Capitol grounds that day, Graves wrote, going on to describe confrontations Taylor had with Capitol Police.
One officer testified in a separate case that Taylor “cheered on rioters assaulting police,” Graves said, “noting that he made an ‘across-the-throat motion,’ and was ‘jumping up and down like he’s getting himself amped up to be in fighting.’”
Graves asked that the court consider that Capitol Police officers will also be present at the inauguration, and said, “The Court should not bless the intrusion of a rioter once again into their place of work.”
Huish, Taylor’s attorney, has said while his client maintains his beliefs that there were “irregularities” during the 2020 presidential election, Taylor has conceded he “went too far.”
“He’s being recognized as really exemplary in the way he both took responsibility, never sacrificed his integrity on the subject, and was ultimately, by the judge, given one of the lowest sentences in the entire Jan. 6 prosecutions,” Huish said of the invitation.
