Judge Chutkan Rules J6 Protester Can Attend Inauguration

I am pretty sure that hell just froze over.

When I saw the filing from Eric Peterson to ask Judge Chutkan for permission to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration, there is no way I thought she would approve the request.

I was wrong, as Chutkan gave Peterson the thumbs up on his request this week.

You Can Go

Judge Chutkan stunned everyone when she agreed to Special Counsel Jack Smith’s request to drop all charges against Trump.

Chutkan has been frothing at the mouth to send Trump to jail since the first J6 case went before her, but she already realized the clock was ticking and simply putting the case on hold for four years was not realistic.

Instead, she dismissed the case without prejudice, so the charges can be refiled after Trump leaves office.

That aside, when a J6 defendant asked for permission to return to the scene of the crime, I thought for sure it would be a denial.

Instead, Chutkan gave Peterson permission to be in DC on January 20 when Trump gets sworn back into office.

Peterson has already pleaded guilty, and he stands to do a year in jail if Chutkan throws the book at him.

He was not charged with anything really serious, having pleaded to entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, so that surely played into Chutkan allowing him to head to DC.

I am also going to assert that since prosecutors did not object to his request, Chutkan gave him the pass. We should note, prosecutors have fought several other requests on this matter from J6 defendants.

While Chutkan has dismissed the charges against Trump, the cases pending against all other J6 defendants will continue unless Trump gives the blanket pardon that he has promised during the campaign.

I continue to maintain that Trump has to be very careful here and think long-term. This is something that will be used against Republicans in 2028, at a time when the GOP has very little room for error.