Just Before Big Rally, Kim Davis Is Released From Jail : The Two-Way Judge David L. Bunning also ordered Davis not to interfere when her deputy clerks issue marriage licenses. Davis was released just as a rally began outside the detention center.
Just Before Big Rally, Kim Davis Is Released From Jail
September 8, 20151:03 PM ET
Eyder Peralta
Updated at 4:15 p.m. ET
Musicians lead protesters in hymns outside the Carter County Detention Center in Grayson, Ky., on Tuesday. Timothy D. Easley/AP hide caption
Timothy D. Easley/AP
Musicians lead protesters in hymns outside the Carter County Detention Center in Grayson, Ky., on Tuesday.
Just hours before a big rally to call for Kim Davis' release, a federal judge ordered that she be released from jail.
Judge David L. Bunning also ordered Davis not to interfere when her deputy clerks issue marriage licenses.
Bunning, who held Davis in contempt and ordered her into custody, said he was satisfied that the Rowan County Clerk's Office is now complying with a Supreme Court decision that made same-sex marriage legal in all the United States.
Shortly thereafter, and after nearly a week in jail, Davis was released.
I was honored to meet w/ #KimDavis. A woman of such strong faith and conviction. #ImWithKim #ReligiousLiberty pic.twitter.com/RhcaENaA6i
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) September 8, 2015
"Kim Davis is free," GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee told a crowd gathered outside the Carter County Detention Center in Grayson, Ky.
About an hour later, Davis came out of the detention center and stepped on the stage.
She cried as the crowd cheered for her.
"I love you all so much," she said. "We serve a living God. ... Keep on pressing. Don't let down because he is here."
As we reported, a deputy clerk has been issuing marriage licenses to both opposite-sex and same-sex couples since Davis was sent to jail. Citing her religious beliefs, Davis had defied the Supreme Court since June by refusing to issue licenses.
Bunning did not order Davis to begin signing off on the licenses. Instead, he simply told her not to try to stop — "directly or indirectly" — licenses from being issued.
The licenses being issued do not have Davis' name on them. Davis' attorneys have argued that they are invalid.
"If Defendant Davis should interfere in any way with their issuance, that will be considered a violation of this Order and appropriate sanctions will be considered," Bunning wrote in his order.
Bunning has also asked Davis' deputy clerks to issue a status report every 14 days that details their compliance with his orders.
Bunning's order came just hours before a huge rally was scheduled.
Davis is expected to address the crowd at the detention center. GOP presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz was also at the rally.
Update at 3:52 p.m. ET. Davis Addresses The Crowd:
Davis came out of the detention center and stepped on the stage.
Her attorney told CNN that Davis would return to work either Wednesday or Thursday and she "would not violate her conscience."
It wasn't immediately clear what that meant.
Correction Sept. 8, 2015
An earlier version of this post misspelled Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee's last name as Hickabee.