A Texas man pleaded guilty to assaulting a law enforcement officer with a dangerous weapon during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol after federal prosecutors lost track of the case for three months.
Lucas Denney, 44, was arrested on Dec. 13 on several charges, including engaging in violence on restricted grounds, obstructing an official proceeding, and civil disorder, among other charges. After his first court appearance, officials ordered Denney to be moved from the Texas jail to Washington, D.C., for further proceedings.
But during the move, Denney got lost in the shuffle — and despite multiple requests from lawyers to schedule an appearance before a Washington court, his case was never placed on the docket.
Federal law requires defendants to have a preliminary hearing within 14 days of arrest, with an indictment required within 30 days. But it wasn’t until Denney’s attorneys filed a motion for release and case dismissal on March 5, two and a half months after his arrest, that the court scheduled a hearing.
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Two days later, prosecutors indicted Denney on one count of assaulting a law enforcement officer.
During the hearing, Judge Zia Faruqui expressed his frustration with the way the case was handled, reportedly noting that if the hearing wasn’t scheduled for that morning, “I would release you today.”
“There’s no excuse to treat a human being like that,” Faruqui said, according to the Washington Post. “It is not how I would want to be treated. And you are presumed innocent. There is no circumstance under which an accused person should be forgotten, and that is what happened here.”
Before the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, Denney used social media to recruit members to join his militia, Patriot Boys of North Texas, according to court documents. He organized the group to travel to Washington, D.C., using posts that said things such as “Occupy Congress” to convince members to join.
Video and photographic evidence show Denney on the Capitol grounds on the day of the riot picking up a metal pole from the ground and swinging it at officers, court documents show. He was also seen entering a tunnel leading into the Capitol building carrying what appeared to be either a baton or a stick.
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Later that day, Denney was seen advancing on the steps of the Capitol, swinging his fists at officers and even pulling one down the stairs outside the building.
Before his hearing began on Thursday, Denney’s lawyers declared his intention to plead guilty to the one charge of assaulting an officer in an attempt to evade the more serious charge of disrupting an official proceeding. Prosecutors estimate Denney will face three to six years in prison upon sentencing.
