Overnight... the Justice Dept notified a judge they have additional phone records for US Capitol Insurrection defendant Brad Bennett of North Carolina. Bennett allegedly got inside the Senate chamber & is linked to Q-Anon.
Bennett's case is different than the others...
Feds say Bennett made his intentions clear on Jan. 2... changing his profile picture to read, “FAIR WARNING. IF THIS ELECTION IS STOLEN FOR BIDEN . . . PATRIOTS WILL GO TO WAR"
But it's what happened AFTER Jan 6 that's convinced the feds to ask Bennett be jailed
Prosecutors say Bennett suspected his arrest was imminent in March... and took off. Disabling his phone and connecting to the rest of the world through fast-food restaurant WI-FI
He vanished
Capitol riot defendant allegedly dodged FBI phone & text messages & used encrypted app
Feds say Brad Bennett went quiet on FACEBOOK and lied about his whereabouts
Bennett's attorneys told a judge Friday that Bennett wasn't trying to "dodge or evade" law enforcement"
But the feds say, 'The amount of trust this Court can place in Defendant’s word is questionable at best."
Brad Bennett appears for ARRAIGNMENT in DC federal court Tuesday afternoon. I'll be covering.
Of the 400+ defendants charged so far ... approx. 60 are in pretrial detention.
We'll see what happens w/ Bennett
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THREAD: We're reaching a new chapter in the prosecution of accused US Capitol Insurrectionists
And it's illustrated by the court filing Friday night from Robert Gieswein, who's accused of wearing riot gear, wielding a baseball bat on front lines & wielding Anti-Semitism too
In Gieswein's case (and many others) - the feds have sought extra time to proceed with the prosecution because of the tonnage of cases and evidence.
This week - for the first time - the Justice Dept indicated total arrests could top 500
But Gieswein's new court filing says he doesn't wanna wait for his case to be heard.
For a few reasons. He's been locked up for months - and doesn't wait to wait in jail much longer
Of the thousands of pages of court filings we've read from US Capitol Insurrection prosecutions .... one motion today is among the most interesting.
Chris Worrell of Florida, who suffers non-Hodgkins lymphoma wants to be released from jail. But........
Worrell said he's worried he'll die from COVID in the DC jail
DC's chief judge denied him. Among other reasons, judge cited the fact that Worrell wasn't wearing a mask amid the mob on Jan. 6.. and didn't seem terribly concerned about COVID or his health during the Insurrection
Today, Worrell appealed to DC Court of Appeals... and makes this striking argument:
Worrell argues *he* has a right to disregard the science about masks and COVID... but says the judge does NOT
THREAD: Accused Oath Keeper and Capitol Insurrectionist organizer Kelly Meggs wants to be released from jail, pending trial
But overnight, the feds told a judge Meggs hid the clothes worn at the Capitol on January 6th from federal agents. And can't be trusted
Prosecutors say Meggs hid some of the items he wore on January 6th before federal agents raided his house.
"This fact 'lessens' the reliability of Defendant Meggs complying with release conditions"
Ahhh.. but Meggs' defense lawyers say the feds simply "overlooked" some of the tactical gear and falsely claimed Meggs might have "destroyed" the items.