The move, in effect, validated the far-right leader’s defiant claim that his criminal prosecution was a kind of political persecution.

The travel restrictions placed on eight Jan. 6 defendants whose sentences were commuted by President Trump will not be enforced, a federal judge ordered Monday. The big picture: The group contains some of the most notorious names charged in the attack,

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta placed the restriction on Friday after Oath Keeper leader Stewart Rhodes met with GOP lawmakers in Congress on Wednesday, days after he and eight of his lieutenants had their years-long prison sentences commuted to time served.