NEWARK -- A federal judge has ordered the release of the names of individuals who allegedly had knowledge of the scheme to shut down lanes at the George Washington Bridge before the Bridgegate scandal broke.

In a ruling sought by a consortium of news organizations, including NJ Advance Media, U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton said the public had a right to know who else may have been involved in the high profile case or subsequent coverup involving the politically motivated shutdown of local toll lanes at the bridge that led to criminal charges against William Baroni, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Bridget Anne Kelly, former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Chris Christie.

The names of those individuals, who have not been charged, have been provided under seal to defense attorneys in the case, but kept secret from the public by federal prosecutors.

"There is very little that is private about the lane closures or the lives of the people allegedly connected to them," said Wigenton in her decision. "Further, individuals thus far identified as being involved in the lane closings have been public employees and/or elected and appointed officials."

She said while privacy for third-parties was important in criminal cases, "this court is satisfied that the privacy interests of uncharged third parties are insufficiently compelling to outweigh the public's right of access."

No timetable was set for the release of the names and the judge gave federal prosecutors and defense attorneys the opportunity to file additional briefs regarding the release of additional sealed documents connected to the case. Among those records include an unredacted brief supporting Baroni's request for materials, a letter by prosecutors that could show evidence favorable to Baroni and Kelly, and a memo from the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher -- the firm that Christie hired that produced a report absolving him of responsibility for the scheme.

Bruce Rosen, the lead attorney on behalf of the news organizations, said his clients were pleased that the court ordered the turnover of the list of unindicted coconspirators.

"We are hopeful that U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman will heed Judge Wigenton's findings and agree that the public's right of access to this list must prevail, rather than prolonging the lack of transparency in this matter by seeking a stay and appealing to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals," he said.

Rosen said he has asked the judge for an immediate turnover of the records.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office had no comment.

The government had opposed the media's request, asking the judge to maintain a seal and redactions on records the government gathered in the case. In briefs filed by U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman, prosecutors argued that news outlets covering the Bridgegate case did not have a right to see the list of unindicted co-conspirators -- individuals the government believes may have known about the plot to abruptly shut down access lanes to the bridge to cause massive traffic disruptions, but were not charged.

Fishman had noted that courts in the past approved efforts to prevent "unnecessary identification" of those who may have known about an alleged criminal plan but for various reasons were not indicted or criminally charged.

But the judge rejected the argument.

"The underlying events that gave rise to the indictment have been extensively covered by the media, such that even persons tangentially involved have already been identified and exposed in the press," she wrote in her eight-page ruling.

Wigenton said because the First Amendment is implicated, the confidentiality of the list of co-conspirators is only permissible if it "is necessitated by a compelling governmental interest, and is narrowly tailored to serve that interest."

She found none. "Disclosure is appropriate and the media's motion for access to the list of unindicted co-conspirators is granted," she wrote.

The names on the list have long been a source of speculation, and are likely to include others with ties to the Christie administration, with the judge herself noting they included public employees or elected officials. But she also said prosecutors limited the scope of those on the list to those individuals for "whom the government has sufficient evidence to designate as having joined the conspiracy."

Among the other news outlets who went to court to force disclosure of the names were the North Jersey Media Group, Bloomberg News, WNBC, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and public news outlets in New York and New Jersey.

Both Baroni and Kelly, who are awaiting trial, were charged a year ago with conspiracy and fraud in connection with the lanes shutdown at bridge in September 2013, in what federal prosecutors have described as a deliberate scheme to tie up traffic in Fort Lee. The plot was allegedly aimed at punishing Mark Sokolich, the Democratic mayor of the Bergen County community, after he declined to back Christie, a Republican, in his gubernatorial re-election bid.

Another former Port Authority official, David Wildstein, who orchestrated the lane closures, pleaded guilty in the case and is cooperating with federal prosecutors.

The governor, who has said he was unaware of the lane shutdown plan or the involvement of Kelly and others, has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

READ THE BRIDGEGATE RULING:

Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.