Federal judge, prosecutors battle over Oath Keepers' access to U.S. Capitol after Trump's clemency

The federal judge who presided over the seditious conspiracy trial of far-right Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes is locked in a battle with Washington, D.C.'s new interim top federal prosecutor over whether Rhodes and his co-defendants should be allowed into Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Capitol following President Trump's commutation of their sentences. 

District Court Judge Amit Mehta on Friday ordered Oath Keepers members Rhodes, Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins, Roberto Minuta, Edward Vallejo, David Moerchel and Joseph Hacket — all of whom were convicted and are serving multi-year prison sentences — to be barred from entering Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Capitol building "without first obtaining the permission from the Court." 

On Monday, as part of his mass clemency of those tied to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, Mr. Trump pardoned over 1,500 defendants and commuted the sentences of Rhodes, his co-defendants and certain members of the Proud Boys group who were also charged with seditious conspiracy. Not all of those who received commutations were ultimately convicted of the seditious conspiracy charge.