U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden restored a Texas woman’s right to possess firearms weeks after she was sentenced for illegally entering the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. On Thursday, Judge McFadden issued an order granting florist Jenny Cudd’s request to lift a term of her probation that forbade her to own or possess any firearm or ammunition.
Politico reports:
Cudd had asked that the condition be set aside, citing threats she received following publicity about her role in the storming of the Capitol as lawmakers were preparing to certify Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election.
The judge’s ruling was a rebuke to prosecutors, who opposed the change, and it was the latest setback for prosecutors dealt by McFadden, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump. The decision further cements the judge’s reputation as the most skeptical member of the D.C. District Court bench about the stance prosecutors have taken in the wake of the Capitol riot.
In his two-page ruling on Thursday, McFadden noted that Cudd wore a “bulletproof sweatshirt” to the Jan. 6 rally, but he credited her explanation that she wore the defensive garment because she feared violence, not because she was seeking it.
“The Government presented no evidence that Cudd incited anyone to violence,” McFadden wrote. “Nor did it present evidence that she participated in violence. She has no prior criminal history. And Cudd’s bullet proof sweatshirt is consistent with her fear of being attacked at the rally preceding her entry into the Capitol. This says nothing about her danger to others.”
McFadden’s order triggered anger from the left especially because a day earlier he delivered the first outright acquittal of a Jan. 6 defendant. [Read Next: Judge Finds Jan. 6 Defendant Not Guilty]