FBI agents unconstitutionally searched and questioned alleged Brooklyn subway shooter Frank James on Tuesday, according to his defense lawyers.
Agents took multiple swabs of James’s DNA and had him sign documents in his prison cell, James’s lawyers claimed in a letter to a judge requesting the evidence be tossed out of court.
BROOKLYN SUBWAY SHOOTING SUSPECT ARRESTED, WILL BE CHARGED WITH TERRORISM
“Contrary to standard practice, the government committed this intrusion absent advance notice to counsel, depriving us of an opportunity to be heard or to be present. Neither did the government provide subsequent notice to counsel. The agents did not provide Mr. James with a copy of the warrant or a receipt, in violation of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure,” the letter read, according to ABC News.
Mia Eisner-Grynberg and Deirdre von Dornum, who are representing James, sent the letter to Judge Roanne Mann of the Eastern District of New York. They argued the government failed to disclose why it departed from traditional procedures during the search and did not provide a copy of the search warrant until after the defense team requested it.
“It is the standard practice in this District that when the government obtains a search warrant for [oral] swabs from a represented, post-arraignment defendant, the government informs counsel of same before its execution, and offers an opportunity to be present,” the letter said, according to CNN.
James, 62, is accused of opening fire on passengers aboard a subway train, shooting 10, and throwing smoke grenades on April 12. In the manhunt that followed, the New York Police Department recovered a credit card, the gun allegedly used in the shooting, and a key to a U-Haul van believed to be connected to the attack. Investigators traced the items back to James. They apprehended him a day after the shooting.
A motivation for the shooting is still under investigation. Before the rampage, James had posted a slew of conspiracy-laced videos to YouTube, musing about a possible race war following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and contemplating acts of violence.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Mann gave prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York until May 3 to respond. Prosecutors from that office have charged James with one terror-related count connected to the shooting rampage in the New York City subway station that took place earlier this month. Prosecutors declined to comment on the letter.
Defense lawyers are also requesting documents related to Tuesday’s search, the material he signed, and any information he gave federal agents.
