Kim Davis RELEASED from jail just as Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz planned to meet her

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Federal judge David Bunning, who jailed Davis on Thursday in a contempt-of-court ruling, lifted his sanctions on her Tuesday
Rowan County, Kentucky decided to remove the evangelical court clerk's name from its preprinted marriage certificates
New court order means she will see more jail or other 'appropriate sanctions' if she interferes with the gay marriage licenses in the future
Her lawyers had appealed in the hope that she would be released
Republican presidential hopefuls Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz were present Tuesday as Davis was released

By David Martosko, Us Political Editor For Dailymail.com and Associated Press and Ashley Collman For Dailymail.com and Louise Boyle In Morehead, Kentucky For Dailymail.com

Published: 12:15 EST, 8 September 2015 | Updated: 20:42 EST, 8 September 2015

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The Kentucky court clerk who was jailed for refusing to grant marriage licenses to gay couples broke down in tears of happiness on Tuesday as a judge granted her release.

Davis did not speak about the events surrounding her jailing, but did offer a few words of thanks to her supporters and fellow Christians at a gathering outside of the Carter County Detention Center.

The crowd roared as Davis walked on the stage to the song Eye of the Tiger, accompanied by Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, her lawyer and her overall-clad husband.

As she took the microphone to address the sea of adoring supporters, Davis was so overwhelmed by the cheers that she broke out in tears of joy and had to momentarily hunch over weeping.

'Thank you all so much, I love you all so much. I just want to give God the glory. His people have rallied and you are a strong people.

'We serve a living god who knows where each and every one of us is at. Just keep on pressing. Don't let down because he is here and he is worthy, he is worthy,' Davis said.

GOP presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee told Daily Mail Online after the rally that he 'would continue to tell people to do what the law says and what their conscience says. Courts don't make law.'

Members of the crowd held signs aloft which read, 'AIDs, judgement or cure?', 'we ought to obey God rather than men' and 'got AIDs yet?'

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Kim Davis addressed her supporters on Tuesday as she was released from jail in Carson County, Kentucky

Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee came to town to visit Davis in jail, but she was released before he could speak to her behind bars

During her brief address to her supporters, Davis praised God and said that his 'people have rallied'

As she took the stage, Davis was overcome with emotion and had to hunch over and cry for a moment

Rebecca Finley, a Pentecostal Christian from Clay County, wept as Davis took to the stage.

'This is my life, my salvation, fending for my Christian liberty,' she said. 'I'm here to stand up for God and Kim Davis.'

Karen Jones, who attends the United Pentecostal Church International in Western Kentucky, said she believed Davis should keep her $80,000-a-year government job.

She said that she did not have a problem with gay people getting married 'as long as our names are not affixed to the documents'.

Ms Jones added: 'There should be separation of church and state. If she resigns, then every Christian will have to resign.'

There were tense scenes as a man with a megaphone verbally attacked a LGBT- supporting pastor and church members.

Pastor Marsha Moore, from the Bluegrass United Church of Christ in Lexington, Kentucky, said it had been a 'little brutal' at the demonstration but that it was an important day.

She said: 'we are here to show people there is another side of belief. It's not for Kim Davis or for anyone to speak for God.

'God's love is big enough for everyone.'

Pastor Moore said that she believed Kim Davis should either do her job or resign.

Davis linked hands with Mike Huckabee (left), her lawyer (center right) and her husband (right) and together they raised their hands as they took the stage

Davis was emotional as she gave her statements Tuesday afternoon, breaking down into tears of joy

Earlier in the day, a federal judge ordered Davis' release, ruling that keeping her behind bars would serve no further purpose since her office has begun issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

As part of the his ruling, U.S. District Judge David Bunning warned that Davis could not continue to stop legally-eligible couples from receiving licenses.

Right now, her deputies are issuing the licenses authorized by 'Rowan County' generally - opposed to her name.

The ruling did not mention the issue of revising the marriage license to accomodate her issues with same-sex marriage.

Davis had previously refused to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples on the basis of her Christian beliefs.

Her lawyer said all she wanted was her name to be taken off of the marriage license certificate.

Freed: A smiling Kim Davis was escorted out of the Grayson County Detention Center and into a waiting crowd of supporters by her attorney Roger Gannam and Mike Huckabee, the Republican White House candidate

Relief: Kim Davis took comfort in her attorney Roger Gannam as she walked out of the county jail

Out: Kim Davis is hugged by her attorney as she leaves the Carter County Detention Center today. Mike Huckabee, the conservative evangelical Republican White House candidate met her before she left

Freedom: Mike Huckabee tweeted a picture of him. his wife and Kim Davis with her fourth (and second) husband when he met with her shortly after her release

Davis, center, hugs her attorney, Matt Staver, with Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, center left, next to her after being released from the Carter County Detention Center on Teusday

Right after she was released from jail, Davis only said that 'all is well' before her lawyer Mat Staver took over and addressed reporters on her behalf. She smiled and appeared to be crying as she stood between her lawyer and GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who had scheduled a jailhouse visit before she was released.

Staver says Davis is loyal to God and her job. But he says she won't violate her conscience and argues that the licenses issued by her office in her absence are invalid. Near the end of the news conference outside the jail, Davis was asked: 'Was it worth it?'She smiled and nodded yes

Davis' attorneys had argued that licenses without her signature that were issued while she as in custody were invalid, but the judge disagreed.

'Plaintiffs have not alleged that the alterations affect the validity of the licenses,' he wrote in a footnote to his two-page ruling. 'Nor do the alterations impact the Court’s finding that the deputy clerks have complied with the Court’s Order.'

Crowd: Scores of protester demonstrating in favor of Kim Davis had been outside the jail since this morning. They had come for a planned rally led by Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz; instead they greeted her release

Appealed: Kim Davis (above) had appealed a federal judge's decision to put her in jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples

And with the stroke of a pen, Bunning lifted on Tuesday his previous order tossing Davis in jail for refusing to sign off on gay marriages, despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that demanded it.

Davis quickly became a conservative hero last week, setting off a race among right-wing presidential candidates who rushed to her defense.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz each said they planned to hold jailhouse visits with Davis – meetings that will no longer be necessary.

Neither candidate's spokespersons immediately provided statements for the record.

During a briefing Tuesday afternoon, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters that 'every elected official in this country is subject to the rule of law,' including the president.

Laws, he said, must be followed by county clerks all across the country after higher courts issue rulings on contentious issues.

Asked if Bunning's ruling spoke to a 'broader issue' given the hot-button issue same-sex marriage has become, Earnest demurred.

'Not really,' he said. 'Obviously the law on this is pretty clear.'

Objection: Davis (above right) objects to same-sex marriage for religious reasons and stopped issuing all marriage licenses in June after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage nationwide

Joe Davis, husband of Rowan County clerk, Kim Davis, is pictured on Saturday attending a prayer support rally while his wife was still jailed

Davis' lawyers spent Labor Day weekend filing appeals in an effort to force her release following Thursday's contempt of court ruling.

Huckabee, a former Baptist minister who often reaches out to religious conservatives, said Davis was simply exercising her religious freedom by denying the marriage licenses. He had planned to join a rally of Davis supporters Tuesday afternoon.

It's unclear whether that rally will still take place.

Davis' jailing offered Republicans an opportunity to appeal to the GOP's evangelical Christian wing, which opposes same-sex marriage and cast Davis' imprisonment as an issue of religious freedom.

Not all the Republican White House hopefuls saw it Huckabee's way, however.

Davis' attorneys had asked for a court order to have Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, accommodate Davis' 'religious conviction,' and not force her to grant licenses to gay couples.

The same request was denied last month by Bunning, the same jurist who jailed Davis.

The change in the marriage license forms means that Davis is no longer sanctioning any same-sex unions, a move that her attorneys have said would satisfy her conscience.

No exceptions: White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters that 'every elected official in this country is subject to the rule of law' – including the president

On Monday, about 30 protesters lined the sidewalk outside Bunning's home in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, carrying signs that read 'Free Kim Davis.'

Fort Thomas Police Lt. Casey Kilgore said the group gathered around 2 p.m., and the protest stretched on for several hours.

Some supporters came back Tuesday as well. CBS News reported that some couldn't believe the news when it began to spread outside the courthouse.

Davis, an apostolic Christian, believes gay marriage is a sin. She also says it would be a sin for her to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple because the licenses are issued under her authority.

She tried in vain to have state lawmakers change the law as a legal challenge to Kentucky's same-sex marriage ban wound its way through the federal appeals court.

Davis stopped issuing all marriage licenses in June the day after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

Two gay couples and two straight couples sued her. Bunning ordered Davis to issue the licenses, and the Supreme Court upheld his ruling.

But Davis still refused to do it, saying she could not betray her conscience or God. Bunning ruled Thursday that Davis was in contempt of court and sent her to jail.

Her deputy clerks – except for her son, Nathan Davis – then issued marriage licenses to gay couples Friday with Davis behind bars.

Bunning ordered Tuesday that she 'shall be released from the custody of the U.S. Marshal forthwith.'

'Defendant 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 added.

'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.'

Judge's Order to Release Kim Davis uploaded by DailyMail.com