A former Republican House member and three current members of Congress from Utah invited a Jan. 6 defendant to President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, according to a letter filed by the defendant's lawyer.
Jan. 6 defendant Russell Taylor organized a group of “fighters” to travel to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, in response to Trump’s tweet telling supporters the day "will be wild." In 2023, Taylor pleaded guilty to a count of obstruction of an official proceeding and cooperated with the government against members of the Three Percenters militia group. Taylor, prosecutors wrote, went to the Capitol led a mob that overran a police line while "wearing an exposed knife on top of a bullet proof chest plate and carrying bear spray, a hatchet, and other weapons in his backpack."
Taylor's lawyer, Dyke E. Huish, filed a motion on Wednesday asking U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth to allow Russell to travel to D.C. with his wife and children for the inauguration.
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The filing, which was first reported by Politico, included a letter from former Utah Rep. Chris Stewart, who wrote that "three other current members of the Utah congressional delegation join with me in extending this invitation."
Huish told NBC News that Taylor knew members of Stewart's family but didn't meet the former congressman himself until after the Taylor was sentenced to probation along with six months of home detention.
"Mr. Taylor has some family friends who knew the congressman," Huish said. "It's really a boring story. They're just friends and he said 'Hey, would you like to come to the inauguration?' and he sent off a letter, and I've got to ask the judge permission, and here we are."
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Huish said he did not know which three of the four members of the Utah delegation had joined Stewart in inviting Taylor to the inauguration.
Stewart was a strong defender of Trump in Congress and ultimately resigned in 2023, citing his wife's illness.
Stewart wrote in his letter that Taylor is a "caring father and reveres his family, his faith, and his love of our Country as his highest priority in life" and "is admired by many, and especially those in his community," writing that "Russ’ passion for what is right and good is reflected in his intentions to lift others. I am honored to extend this invitation for him to attend the Inauguration as my guest."
Stewart did not immediately responded to requests for comment.
Huish said in his filing that Taylor "has successfully completed his home confinement and is in compliance with his terms and conditions of probation."
Taylor organized a group of "Patriots that are ready to function as operators of disruption against Tyranny" ahead of the attack, writing, "I personally want to be on the front steps and be one of the first ones to breach the doors!" and traveling with "hatchets, a taser, stun batons, bear spray, tactical gloves, a helmet, and a plate carrier vest with bullet proof plates," according to a memorandum for his sentencing.
On Jan. 6, 2021, following the Capitol attack, Taylor wrote in a message that he "was pushing through traitors all day today."
"WE STORMED THE CAPITOL! Freedom was fully demonstrated today!" he had continued.
The filing from Taylor requesting permission to travel comes just days after Lamberth emphasized the judicial principles of "truth and justice, law and order" during a separate Jan. 6 sentencing. The judge had also said that jurors who heard Jan. 6-related cases "know how perilously close we came to letting the peaceful transfer of power, that great cornerstone of the American republican experiment and perhaps our foremost contribution to posterity, slip away from us."
Taylor testified on behalf of the government in trials that ultimately led to prison sentences for his co-conspirators. Huish said that Lamberth had described his client as "the poster child" for the proper way for Jan. 6 defendants to handle their cases.
"He's never backed off of his belief that there were improprieties in the 2020 election. He's always supported President-elect Trump. But at the same time, he said, 'Look, I personally went too far,'" Huish said. "Quite honestly, if more people had been like Mr. Taylor, I think there'd be a lot less people in jail, and we'd have resolved this stuff a lot faster. You don't have to give up your integrity to say, 'I went too far.'"
Trump has previously lavished praise on Jan. 6 rioters, a refrain which he frequently invoked on the campaign trail. He has described people facing prison time for their role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol as "hostages" and "patriots."
The president-elect has said he would "most likely" pardon Jan. 6 rioters, saying during a Meet the Press interview that aired Sunday that "those people have suffered long and hard."
During the same interview, Trump said that members of Congress who served on the Jan. 6 Committee "should go to jail."
More than 1,570 people have been charged for crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack, according to data released this week by the D.C.'s U.S. Attorney's office. Of that number, about 590 people were charged related to assaulting or resisting law enforcement or obstructing the officers' jobs, according to the office. Overall, prosecutors have secured convictions against more than 1,100 defendants, and judges have given more than 600 rioters sentences of incarceration.
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