A Lego set of the U.S. Capitol federal authorities apprehended from the home of a Pennsylvania man accused of participating in the Jan. 6 riot was not “fully constructed” as originally stated, court records show.
Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Channing Phillips clarified the set, with more than 1,000 pieces, was still loose in the box when found by the federal authorities.
“Please note that after a review of the photographs from the search, there appears to have been a miscommunication and that statement appears to be inaccurate,” Phillips wrote in an amended court filing on Friday, according to Triblive.com.
“The Lego set was in a box and not fully constructed at the time of the search, as pictured below,” Phillips added.
CAPITOL RIOT’S UNANSWERED QUESTIONS SIX MONTHS ON
Federal prosecutors first reported on July 2 that the FBI seized a “fully constructed” U.S. Capitol Lego set in a filing about the case against 27-year-old Robert Morss from Glenshaw, which is roughly nine miles north of Pittsburgh. The detail was used in several media headlines to argue why he should remain in custody.
Morss is accused of being one of the rioters leading “intense and prolonged” clashes at the U.S. Capitol against law enforcement. He is currently being held in custody pending a bail hearing over several charges related to the riot, including assaulting, resisting or impeding officers, civil disorder, robbery of U.S. property, and obstruction, court records show.
Prosecutors said Morss was carrying three different firearms, including a handgun, a shotgun, and a rifle. He also allegedly possessed a notebook that included phrases such as, “Step by Step To Create Hometown Militia.”
Morss is being defended by attorneys for the Federal Community Defender Office. He is one of more than 500 people with charges by federal prosecutors following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The Washington Examiner contacted the FCDO but did not immediately receive a response.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
If the Lego set was completely constructed, the Capitol model “would have been an indication of the mindset of the individual,” said Bruce Antkowiak, a former federal prosecutor and law professor at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.
Antkowiak stressed “accuracy in these things (filings) has a great deal of importance,” adding, “You just hope that court decisions are ultimately not based on the mistakes.”
