WASHINGTON – Tommy Tatum from Mississippi, currently facing multiple felony charges for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers on Jan. 6, 2021, had expressed a desire to attend Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration. However, prosecutors opposed this request, citing concerns that Tatum could potentially come into contact with the officers he is accused of attacking.
A federal judge sided with the prosecution, acknowledging the threat posed by Tatum and issuing a ruling to continue restricting his travel to Washington D.C. while awaiting trial. This decision aligns with recent rulings by judges that have prevented Jan. 6 defendants from participating in events celebrating Trump’s potential return to office.
Judge John Bates highlighted the severity of Tatum’s alleged violent behavior in his decision to uphold the travel restrictions. Tatum is among the nearly 1,600 individuals facing charges related to the Capitol attack, many of whom are hoping for pardons from Trump.
While some defendants have been granted permission to attend the inauguration, such as Eric Lee Peterson from Kansas City, Missouri, who faces misdemeanors for disorderly conduct, others with more serious charges have been denied this opportunity. Christopher Belliveau from Sanford, Maine, for example, was not allowed to attend due to the serious nature of the allegations against him, including attacking an officer with chemical spray.
Another defendant, Russell Taylor from California, was also denied permission to travel despite having a personal invitation from a congressman. Former Rep. Chris Stewart vouched for Taylor’s character, but Judge Royce Lamberth emphasized the gravity of Taylor’s involvement in the events of Jan. 6, which included providing weapons to a co-defendant and engaging in acts of aggression against law enforcement officers.
Overall, the judiciary has been cautious in granting travel requests to Jan. 6 defendants in light of the circumstances surrounding the Capitol attack and the potential risks associated with their participation in public events.
“Them and encourage other rioters who were actively assaulting them,” Lamberth wrote.
One request that has not yet been acted on is from Cindy Young, who was convicted of four misdemeanors in August for entering and remaining in the Capitol and disorderly conduct. She was sentenced to four months in prison and a year of probation. While Young’s lawyers argue she poses no threat, government lawyers highlighted her actions on Jan. 6, including that she helped interrupt Congress’ certification of President Joe Biden’s victory and only left the Capitol after another rioter was shot to death.
The Justice Department also said Young has called for retribution against jurors, judges, and law enforcement officers involved in prosecuting the Jan. 6 defendants, all of whom are in the Washington area. Rioters stand on the West front of the U.S. Capitol building to protest the official election of President-elect Joe Biden on Jan 6, 2021.
‘I will be entirely peaceful’
Prosecutors are also worried about the potential danger posed to law enforcement officers by William Pope of Topeka, Kansas. Pope, who has been charged with obstructing Congress, civil disorder, and entering the Capitol on Jan. 6, told a federal judge considering his travel request that he has been back to Washington twice since 2021 without incident.
“As with all my previous trips to D.C., I will be entirely peaceful,” Pope wrote in his request. But government lawyers put the focus back on 2021, arguing Pope “stood at the vanguard of the crowd,” pushing past police officers to enter the Capitol.
“These rioters forced their way into the U.S. Capitol building,” prosecutors wrote in their filing, “requiring elected officials and their staff to flee or shelter in place and resulting in hundreds of injured officers and even multiple deaths.”
