Government

Riot Prosecutors Ask Court For Delay Because GAAHH, SO MUCH CRIMING

And so much evidence, too.

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(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The Justice Department prosecutors investigating the January 6 Capitol Riot have asked the court for more time to bring the cases to trial citing the sheer quantity of crimes and the mountain of evidence thereof.

As first reported by Politico, U.S. Attorneys in D.C. have filed motions in several cases asking to suspend the 70-day trial requirement. Under a provision of the Speedy Trial Act, the court may grant a continuance upon finding that “the ends of justice served by taking such action outweigh the best interest of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial.”

The court may consider “[w]hether the case is so unusual or so complex, due to the number of defendants, the nature of the prosecution, or the existence of novel questions of fact or law, that it is unreasonable to expect adequate preparation for pretrial proceedings or for the trial itself within the time limits established by this section.” And indeed a possible RICO prosecution of a domestic terrorist group who believed they were obeying the lawful orders of the commander in chief might check a lot of those boxes.

And indeed the evidence appears to be extensive.

Defendants charged and under investigation come from throughout the United States, and a combined total of over 900 search warrants have been executed in almost all fifty states and the District of Columbia. No less than fourteen law enforcement agencies were involved in the response to the Capitol Attack, which included officers and agents from U.S. Capitol Police, the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the United States Secret Service, the United States Park Police, the Virginia State Police, the Arlington County Police Department, the Prince William County Police Department, the Maryland State Police, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Prince George’s County Police Department, and the New Jersey State Police. And even more local, state, and federal agencies and field offices throughout the country have been tasked with carrying out various aspects of investigations. Documents and evidence accumulated in the Capitol Attack investigation thus far include: (a) more than 15,000 hours of surveillance and body-worn camera footage from multiple law enforcement agencies; (b) approximately 1,600 electronic devices; (c) the results of hundreds of searches of electronic communication providers; (d) over 210,000 tips, of which a substantial portion include video, photo and social media; and (e) over 80,000 reports and 93,000 attachments related to law enforcement interviews of suspects and witnesses and other investigative steps.

“The volume of discoverable materials is likely to be significant,” the DOJ notes drily.

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Wait ’til that guy who put his feet up on Speaker Pelosi’s desk and screamed at Judge Christopher R. Cooper about having to stay in jail for two months pending trial finds out that the government plans to take its sweet time on this one. Womp womp.

Prosecutors seek a slowdown in Capitol attack cases, calling probe the ‘most complex’ in history [Politico]

Elizabeth Dye lives in Baltimore where she writes about law and politics.

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