US judge bars some Jan 6 defendants from entering Washington

By Susan Heavey

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A federal judge on Friday barred Stewart Rhodes, the former leader of the far-right Oath Keepers group, and some other Jan. 6 defendants from entering Washington, D.C., as well as the U.S. Capitol, as a condition of their release from prison.

Rhodes was among hundreds of Donald Trump supporters who had been serving prison sentences for participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol freed on Tuesday, after the new president pardoned more than 1,500 people, including some who assaulted police officers.

He and seven other defendants were cited in the order with special conditions for release.

"You must not knowingly enter the District of Columbia without first obtaining the permission from the Court," read the order signed by Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

It also said the defendants must not knowingly enter the U.S. Capitol building or surrounding grounds without permission.

Rhodes had been serving an 18-year sentence after being found guilty of plotting to use force to prevent Congress from certifying Trump's 2020 defeat to Joe Biden.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)