Judge denies Jan. 6 defendant’s request to travel to inauguration with ex-Rep. Chris Stewart

SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge has denied a request from a Jan. 6 defendant to travel to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration later this month, after former Utah Rep. Chris Stewart invited the man and wrote to the judge on his behalf.

Stewart called Russell Taylor a “man of integrity and faith who has served those who are less fortunate” and spoke of Taylor’s business and family life in asking the judge for permission for Taylor to attend the inaugural festivities in Washington, D.C. Taylor remains on probation after pleading guilty to obstructing an official proceeding related to his role in the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and must obtain permission to travel.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth denied Taylor’s request on Friday, noting that Taylor received “an unusually lenient sentence” in part because of his “otherwise law-abiding life.”

“However, Mr. Taylor’s good traits and adherence to his terms of probation are of only marginal importance to the motion at hand,” Lamberth wrote. “Mr. Taylor’s motion presents only the narrow question of whether a person who conspired and acted to thwart the peaceful transfer of power four years ago with incitement, threats and weapons should now be granted special permission to attend the celebration of the peaceful transfer of power. The answer to that question is ‘no,’ whether or not he is, generally speaking, a good person.”