<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1655913981226,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000179-379a-dbb2-a7fd-bfda8bfc0000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1655913981226,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000179-379a-dbb2-a7fd-bfda8bfc0000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_55913843", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1036702"} }); ","_id":"00000181-8c2a-ddcb-a3e1-cd6a20590000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedLeaders of the right-wing Proud Boys group will have their criminal trial delayed until at least the end of the year, after the Jan. 6 hearings have concluded, so attorneys can fully review the evidence unearthed by House investigators, a judge announced Wednesday.
The announcement comes in response to a request from the Department of Justice on Tuesday to delay the trial because the Jan. 6 hearings have made it difficult for both sides to prepare for trial as the committee reveals new evidence not previously seen by attorneys. Although the committee has agreed to share some of its documents and witness transcripts with the DOJ, it won’t do so until the hearings have concluded — which prosecutors argued would not grant them enough time to view all the evidence before the trial begins.
PROUD BOYS CHARGED WITH ‘SEDITIOUS CONSPIRACY’ RELATED TO CAPITOL RIOT
“Moving the trial is necessary to avoid the potential Constitutional and due process issues that have been presented in the parties’ filings,” DOJ officials wrote in a court filing Tuesday night. “The parties’ inability to prepare their respective cases to account for such additional information is potentially prejudicial — to all parties. The parties’ inability to incorporate this information into their respective cases provides a strong basis to continue the trial until both sides are given a reasonable opportunity to review the information.”
Judge Timothy J. Kelly said he would “reluctantly” agree to a delay.
The five Proud Boys leaders are set to face trial on Aug. 8 after being charged by the Justice Department with “seditious conspiracy” related to their alleged roles in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The group has also taken on a major role in the select committee’s hearings, being featured prominently in video footage shown during the first prime-time hearing.
However, the DOJ is concerned that new revelations about the group’s members will be revealed in future hearings that could be used as key evidence in its case. The attorneys are likely referring to a future hearing set to focus on former President Donald Trump’s relationship with the group.
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Attorneys also argued that holding the trial while the hearings are underway or only recently finished could unfairly sway jurors. Delaying the trial would allow “unprecedented levels of negative publicity to abate, enabl[e] the Defendants to receive effective assistance of counsel, and permit the Defendants to receive the committee’s interview transcripts,” the DOJ said.
The department requested delaying the trial until late December, proposing jury selection to be completed by Dec. 23 and opening statements to begin during the week of Jan. 2, 2023 — nearly two years after the Capitol riot. In his decision Wednesday, Kelly said he expected to hold opening statements the same week as jury selection because he doesn’t expect it to take that long.
However, Kelly would agree to push the trial until after the holidays if the DOJ and Proud Boys can agree on a timeline, he said.
