A Kansas City, Missouri man, Eric Lee Peterson, will be allowed to attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration despite pleading guilty to entering the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan granted Peterson’s request, along with a request to expand his local travel restrictions while on bond. This decision comes despite Peterson’s expectation of a pardon from President-elect Trump.
Peterson’s attorney, Michael Bullotta, argued that his client’s offense was minimal – entering and remaining in the Capitol for approximately eight minutes without authorization – and that his lack of a criminal record warranted the exceptions. Bullotta further emphasized the incoming administration’s confirmation of President-elect Trump’s intent to pardon those in Peterson’s position on his first day in office, rendering Peterson’s scheduled sentencing hearing moot.
President-elect Trump’s campaign promises to pardon January 6th defendants, referring to them as “patriots,” “warriors,” and “hostages,” informed this legal argument. During a December 8th interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Trump reiterated his intention to act swiftly on these pardons upon taking office, though he suggested potential exceptions for those deemed “radical” or “crazy.” He also used the interview to threaten imprisonment for former Representative Liz Cheney and Representative Bennie Thompson, who led the congressional investigation into the January 6th attack.
Peterson’s guilty plea to knowingly and unlawfully entering a restricted building or grounds carries a potential sentence of up to one year in prison and a fine. As part of the plea agreement, he will pay $500 in restitution for damages to the Capitol and provide authorities access to his social media communications from around the date of the riot.
Peterson’s actions on January 6th were captured on Capitol surveillance video and publicly available footage. The statement of offense indicates he was present outside the locked Rotunda doors as the building alarm sounded, entered the building at 3:03 p.m. Eastern Time, walked past a police officer, took photos inside the Rotunda, and exited at 3:11 p.m., remaining on the Capitol’s restricted Upper West Terrace afterward. He was initially charged with four offenses, including disorderly conduct and demonstrating inside the Capitol. He is one of approximately 996 defendants who pleaded guilty out of the roughly 1,572 individuals facing federal charges related to the January 6th attack. The attack resulted in injuries to approximately 140 police officers, vandalism to parts of the building, and a temporary halt to Congress’s certification of the 2020 presidential election results.
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