Washington – An alleged member of the Patriot Boys militia group charged with multiple crimes January 6 Attack on the Capitol he said he would plead guilty to one count of assaulting officers with a stick on Monday after prosecutors said they had committed an “unintentional” procedural error since he was initially charged.
Lucas Denney, of Texas, was charged with multiple felonies on a criminal charge, an indictment does not require the consensus of a grand jury, in December 2021. Court documents alleged that he took a large tube out from the Capitol building and threw him to officers before he headed to a large police line inside the west tunnel of the Capitol.
Denney has been under arrest and has been in prison since December.
Under the Fast Trial Act, a grand jury must file a formal indictment against any defendant within 40 days of the criminal complaint. But in Denney’s case, prosecutors did not do so, but charged him with a single charge of assault or impediment on officers on March 7, 2021, months after his initial arrest in December.
LEAH MILLIS / REUTERS
His defense team filed an urgent motion to release him from prison for violating the law.
“Every day Mr. Denney remains in custody is an additional day that his rights to liberty are denied without due process in violation of his rights under the Fifth Amendment, “wrote Denney’s defense attorneys,” Mr. Denney should not be held in a cell for another day while the government tries to explain his breach of the law. “
In an infrequent move, prosecutors agreed they made a mistake in not filing the indictment quickly enough and said Denney should be released and the charges should be dropped, but asked the judge to do so. in a way that allowed them to present Denney’s case to a Grand Jury again. This would leave the possibility of another accusation.
The alleged charges were serious and his mistake was “unintentional,” the government said, so they should be given another chance to charge Denney.
“The charges against Denney are of the utmost gravity. These charges arise in the context of the attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, a crime unprecedented in the history of the United States,” he said on Monday. ‘file.
“There is no evidence of bad faith, a pattern of abandonment or anything more than an isolated incident that resulted from a number of unfortunate factors,” prosecutors added.
But during a court hearing Monday that was initially scheduled as an indictment where Denney would have a chance to file a statement on the only charge charged in the indictment, his defense attorney William Shipley alleged that the government filed the accusation of “bad faith” after he said they sent them fighting to get an indictment on the books after their procedural error.
And in another unusual move, the lawyer indicated that his client was willing to admit guilt and plead guilty to the sole charge of the prosecution without reaching an agreement with the government, a measure that would effectively prevent prosecutors file more charges against their. customer due to double hazard rules.
Most of more than 220 convictions have been filed in the January 6 investigation have involved cooperation or other legal agreements with the government to avoid going to trial.
“Mr. Denney is here, willing to admit his conduct and plead guilty to the only pending charge,” Shipley told Judge Randolph Moss. The defense told the judge they saw the evidence against his client and said he was willing to admit guilt to a charge.
The judge agreed with Denney’s defense that he had been mistreated, even telling prosecutors, “There is no excuse for treating such a person.” But he did not stop allowing the defendant to plead guilty on Monday, explaining that he needed more time to examine the jurisprudence. This was a new situation in which prosecutors put themselves, the judge reasoned, and needed more time to rule accurately.
Defense attorney Shipley objected to the proposed delay, telling the judge he feared the government would use the calendar as a way to return a broader indictment against his client.
Prosecutor Jennifer Rozzoni told the judge, however, that after discussing the case with a supervisor, the government would not oppose Denney’s surprise decision to write a guilty plea for assaulting an officer with a stick on June 6. January
The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the story.
“We appreciate the government acknowledging his mistake and recognizing Mr. Denney’s right to plead guilty, and we trust Judge Moss’ trial in the sentencing,” Shipley told CBS News.
Denney’s indictment, where he will probably plead guilty to the minor count, is now set for Thursday.
Add Comment