Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell's thundering ruling keeping Richard Barnett behind bars before trial ranks as one of the most outraged and passionate speeches that I have heard delivered from the federal bench.
The developing story above only captures a sliver of it.
But Howell's oratory can be summarized by those three words: "Brazen. Entitled. Dangerous," a trio of adjectives the judge repeated twice—and a distillation of the smirking image of Barnett with his feet on a desk in Pelosi's office with a stun gun in his pants.
“The government has presented overwhelming evidence that this defendant, Richard Barnett, enthusiastically participated in this assault on the Capitol.”
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Mark Leffingwell, charged with assault law enforcement during the Capitol insurrection, has an arraignment coming up before U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson.
The Capitol Police officer he allegedly assaulted narrated the incident.
Live-thread ahead.
"All rise."
We begin.
AUSA Christopher Berridge for the govt
Mark John Carroll for the defense.
Judge ABJ asks whether Mark Leffingwell waives his physical presence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Carroll mentions that his client has a traumatic brain injury from an IED in the Iraq War, but he is competent to proceed.
This is an attorney for Lin Wood's former law partners during a hearing on Sept. 23, 2020, in a transcript.
Lin Wood's counsel R. Joseph Burby attributed his client's "emotional tailspin" to the toll of the turmoil in his firm and his ex-partners telling his children he was having mental health issues.
Wood claims he felt they were trying to drive a wedge with his family.
Richard "Bigo" Barnett, seen here with a stun gun in his pants and foot on a desk inside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, has a remote hearing now in the District of D.C.