Kim Davis is freed from jai, today.

Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who was jailed last week after she defied a court’s order that she issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, was ordered released on Tuesday. In a two-page order issued Tuesday, the judge who sent her to jail, David L. Bunning of the Federal District Court, said he would release Ms. Davis because he was satisfied that her office was “fulfilling its obligation to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples.” Judge Bunning ordered that Ms. Davis “shall not interfere in any way, directly or indirectly, with the efforts of her deputy clerks to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples.” He he said that any such action would be regarded as “a violation” of his released order. Ms. Davis’s argument and incarceration have resonated deeply among Christian conservatives, many of whom fear an erosion of religious liberty, and transformed the clerk of a rural Kentucky county into an unyielding symbol of opposition to same-sex marriage. Ms. Davis’s deputies began processing licenses after she was jailed. In a signal of the possible courtroom battles to come, Ms. Davis’s lawyers have questioned whether those licenses are valid, but Rowan County officials have insisted they will be recognized. Reports of Ms. Davis’s release came shortly ahead of visits planned by two Republican presidential candidates, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, and a rally in support of Ms. Davis. A handful of local schools were closed Tuesday as the streets of this small town, population 4,200, near the border with West Virginia, swelled with traffic. Scores of people gathered outside the jail hours before Mr. Huckabee’s speech was scheduled to begin. Many people sat in lawn chairs they brought from their homes, while a man used a megaphone to urge people to repent. Streets were crowded as traffic slowed, and one entrepreneur offered parking spaces for $20 each. On a street near the squat jail, demonstrators lined up along the roadway, where a sign leaned against a truck and read, “Judges Don’t Make Laws And Are Not Above The Law.” “This is not a political campaign, and I don’t want it to be and neither would Kim,” a lawyer for Ms. Davis, Mathew D. Staver, said of the rally. “This is an event to honor God. It’s an event to stand with Kim and ask for Kim to be free.” In a matter of days, Ms. Davis, 49, who was first elected county clerk last year, has vaulted from obscure local official to national lightning rod in the debate over gay marriage. She has become a hero to Christian conservatives who oppose same-sex unions, and a caricature of rural backwardness to people who support it. A number of other local officials in several states took similar stances, but many of them have relented. Among the court fights that have resulted, the litigation around Ms. Davis’ position has gone farthest and drawn the most attention. Last month, Judge Bunning ruled against Ms. Davis’ claim that giving licenses to same-sex couples would infringe on her freedom of religion, and ordered her to resume issuing the licenses. She appealed. A federal appeals court turned down her request to stay Judge Bunning’s order, pending the outcome of her appeal, and on Aug. 31, the Supreme Court did the same. But in a court hearing last Thursday, she held to her refusal to issue any licenses. Five of her six deputies told Judge Bunning that they would be willing to issue and sign the licenses without her approval, but Ms. Davis’ lawyer said she would not allow that. The judge held Ms. Davis in contempt and ordered her to jail, and told her deputies to begin issuing marriage licenses. On Friday, amid loud protests on both sides, and a throng of journalists, the Rowan County clerk’s office gave marriage licenses to six same-sex and two opposite-sex couples.