The order comes days after President Trump pardoned more than 1,500 people sentenced in relation to the January 6 attack.
A United States federal judge has barred several high-profile figures who took part in the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, from entering Washington, DC, without court permission, as a condition of their release from prison.
On Friday, Judge Amit Mehta of the US District Court for the District of Columbia issued the ruling, which applies to Stewart Rhodes, the former leader of the far-right Oath Keepers group, and seven others.
“You must not knowingly enter the District of Columbia without first obtaining the permission from the Court,” Mehta’s order read.
The decision comes after President Donald Trump made the controversial decision to pardon nearly all of the 1,583 people who faced federal charges for their participation in the 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
On January 6 of that year, Trump supporters attacked law enforcement and stormed the building in an effort to overturn the Republican’s loss in the 2020 election. Lawmakers were forced to stop their certification of the Electoral College votes and flee.
Rhodes, who had been given an 18-year sentence, was one of 14 defendants who saw Trump commute their sentences, rather than receiving a full pardon. Commutations do not exonerate but rather lower the punishments a defendant may face.
Trump announced the commutations and pardons on Monday, in the first hours of his second term. A day later, Rhodes was released from prison.
Then, on Wednesday, he visited the US Capitol to meet at least one lawmaker, according to The Associated Press. The news agency reported that Rhodes also chatted with other officials and defended his actions on January 6.
“I’m only guilty of opposing those who are destroying the country,” Rhodes told reporters, echoing Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen through massive fraud. “We stood up for our country because we knew the election was stolen. Biden did not get 81 million votes.”
Experts have expressed concern that the pardons could legitimise political violence.
Among those pardoned was Enrique Tarrio, former leader of the far-right Proud Boys who had been sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy and other crimes.
Since his release and return to his home in Florida, Tarrio has made a media appearance on the far-right outlet Infowars, promising “retribution”.
“The people who did this, they need to feel the heat,” Tarrio said. “They need to be put behind bars, and they need to be prosecuted.”
Trump himself has leaned heavily into the rhetoric of retribution and vengeance, suggesting that lawmakers involved in a congressional probe into the Capitol attack should themselves be investigated.
He also indicated they could face criminal charges for treason and “military tribunals”.
“For what they did, honestly, they should go to jail,” Trump told the TV show Meet the Press in December.