Many of the U.S. Capitol riot defendants have been released from jail as they await trial despite appeals from the Justice Department to keep them locked up, reports CNN.
Chief Judge Beryl Howell of the D.C. District Court on Tuesday ordered Proud Boys member William Chrestman to be transferred to Washington, D.C., where he will remain in custody before his trial on charges in connection with the deadly Jan. 6 riot, though the ruling is an anomaly as more than 220 defendants have been released from jail.
Judges in Iowa, Arkansas, New Jersey, and Tennessee have rejected the DOJ’s requests to keep the protesters locked up since prosecutors were unable to prove that they were a flight risk or a danger to the public.
Only certain types of violent crimes make detaining defendants necessary, per CNN.
"Is it all because of the axe handle the defendant was carrying into the Capitol?" the judge asked about Chrestman on Tuesday. Prosecutors said Chrestman was more of a danger than the other rioters because he had carried the weapon into the Capitol.
"He wasn't coming to stroll around the reflecting pool, looking at the monuments. He was coming with a gas mask ... an axe handle. There was some preplanning there," Howell agreed.
Later Tuesday, Judge Amit Mehta ordered arguments in the case of alleged Oath Keeper Jessica Watkins pushed to Friday, telling prosecutors: "These are issues that are going to affect not only Ms. Watkins but dozens and dozens of people who are coming through the pipeline."
"It's not clear to me ... what the government is relying on" to make the case for detention, Mehta said.
"She turned herself in. I just have a hard time finding that it rises to a level of a serious risk of flight," Mehta responded.
Watkins is still in jail.
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