President-elect Donald Trump vowed repeatedly during the campaign that he would pardon most Jan. 6 Capitol riot defendants once he's taken office, and that promise has garnered mixed reactions from the federal judges presiding over those defendants' cases.

One judge recently granted special permission for a convicted non-violent Jan. 6 defendant to skirt the travel limitations of his pre-sentence release so he could attend Trump's inauguration in Washington D.C., according to the New York Post.

Other judges, however, have denied or delayed decisions on similar requests, or are vindictively sentencing defendants to serve time in prison despite the likely imminence of a pardon.

Convicted Capitol protesters granted permission to attend inauguration

On Thursday, D.C. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, the same judge who presided over and recently dismissed President-elect Trump's federal election interference indictment, granted a special dispensation for a convicted Jan. 6 protester to attend Trump's upcoming inauguration ceremony in D.C. next month.

Eric Peterson, from Kansas City, Missouri, was convicted on Nov. 1 of what is essentially misdemeanor trespassing on Capitol grounds and faces a likely sentencing of less than a year in prison at a hearing scheduled for a week after Trump takes office. He was allowed to remain free without bail pending sentencing, albeit with some restrictions, including travel outside of Kansas City without the court's permission.

"Mr. Peterson respectfully requests that he be provided limited permission to travel to the District of Columbia for the purpose of attending President Donald Trump’s second inauguration on Monday January 20, 2025," Peterson’s lawyer, Michael Bullotta, wrote in a motion filed last week, per Law & Crime.

"Mr. Peterson, as the government will agree, was not alleged to have done anything related to assault or vandalism at the January 6, 2021 protests. His offense was entering and remaining in the Capitol for about 8 minutes without proper authorization," the lawyer added.

Notably, according to the Post, federal prosecutors did not oppose the request, and Bullotta further pointed out to Judge Chutkan that, given Trump's promise to pardon most Jan. 6 defendants, Peterson’s sentencing "will likely be rendered moot" in the near future.

Other defendants still awaiting permission to attend inauguration

Yet, as Law & Crime reported, not every Jan. 6 defendant is as fortunate as Peterson in having a presiding judge willing to allow them to attend President-elect Trump's inauguration, as at least two others are awaiting a decision on such requests.

A defendant named Russell Taylor, who was accused of bringing weapons to the Capitol but was only convicted of an obstruction charge -- which was ruled against by the Supreme Court -- and sentenced to six months of probation, also wants to attend the inauguration but saw his request opposed by prosecutors.

Likewise, a defendant named Cindy Young, convicted of four misdemeanors after being accused of rushing police outside the Capitol, has similarly seen prosecutors oppose her request to attend the inauguration. The judges in both cases have yet to rule on those requests.

Trump has been clear about his intent to issue pardons

According to NPR, President-elect Trump said, when asked about Jan. 6 defendants during a May town hall event, "I am inclined to pardon many of them. I can't say for every single one because a couple of them, probably, they got out of control." He later added of the pardons, "I would say it will be a large portion of them and it would be early on."

Trump reiterated that vow in an NBC News interview earlier this month when he said he would be "be acting very quickly -- first day," to issue pardons for most Jan. 6 defendants, though he noted that there "may be some exceptions" to his promised clemency for those defendants who were "radical, crazy," and engaged in violence or other serious criminal activity.

Jan. 6 defendants are certainly aware of what Trump has said, too, as CNN reported that Phillip Grillo, who was convicted of a non-violent misdemeanor, was ordered into custody immediately after sentencing to serve one year in prison, snarkily retorted to the judge as officers cuffed him, "Trump’s gonna pardon me anyways."