Oath Keepers Ask for Venue Change Attributable to ‘Incessant Destructive Publicity’ of Jan. 6 in DC

  • Attorneys for a bunch of Oath Keepers are asking for a change of venue of their federal sedition trial for the Jan. 6 assaults.
  • The group of Oath Keepers, together with founder Stewart Rhodes, argued that they can not obtain a good trial in DC.
  • Attorneys for the group decried the “incessant damaging publicity relating to J6 defendants.”

Members of The Oath Keepers, a far-right extremist group, are requesting a venue change earlier than their upcoming federal seditious conspiracy trial associated to the January 6 riot — claiming they can’t get an neutral jury in Washington, DC.

The defendants – together with Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, Thomas Caldwell, Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, and Jessica Watkins – stated in a courtroom submitting on Friday that they “are merely looking for to keep away from an Attraction subject” — referring to difficult the decision in courtroom — and “forestall the argument of native prejudice.”

“Most lately, the ‘Oath Keepers’ have been everywhere in the information,” attorneys stated within the courtroom submitting obtained by Insider, decriing the “incessant damaging publicity relating to J6 defendants.”

Jury choice is because of start on September 27 for the trial, which is scheduled for late November. Within the courtroom submitting, attorneys for the January 6 defendants stated they’ve “sworn written responses to questionnaires admitting to a majority holding prejudgment bias.”

“(January 6) trials earlier than juries have been in unanimous jury verdicts promptly returned,” the submitting stated. “The defendants’ argument, which era has solely supported, is that no J6 defendant has been acquitted on any rely, a lot much less any case — by a jury, up to now, within the District of Columbia.”

Per the courtroom submitting, the attorneys recommended the case be moved to US District Courtroom for the Japanese District of Virginia “for the comfort of the federal government and the courtroom.”

Attorneys for the defendants additionally argued that media protection of the January 6 riot on the Capitol and the Home Choose Committee investigating the assault would forestall a good trial.

The Home committee lately launched audio recordings from a walkie-talkie app that the Oath Keepers used whereas contained in the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

“The Zello recording parts that the courtroom dominated inadmissible on this case had been now extremely publicized by Congress’s J6 Committee (after the Courtroom expressed skepticism of admissibility), which the Committee particularly claimed was a recording of the Oath Keepers displaying their intent,” attorneys for the defendants stated within the courtroom submitting.

“That Congress would publicize a recording that the Courtroom signaled can be inadmissible partially, is surprising.”

Attorneys for the defendants didn’t instantly reply to Insider’s request for touch upon Saturday.

A complete of 919 folks have been arrested and criminally charged in reference to the Capitol riot, and 396 of them have pleaded responsible to this point.

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