Pezzola’s attorneys argue Proud Boy should have access to laptop and be released pending trial – Democrat & Chronicle

First person sentenced in Capitol riot, no jail time

Anna Morgan-Lloyd is the first defendant to be sentenced in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. She pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and admitted to unlawfully entering the Capitol and will serve 3 years of probation, do 120 hours of community service and pay $500 in restitution.

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Lawyers representing accused Capitol rioter Dominic Pezzola argue he should be freed from custody pending his trial because his constitutional rights are being violated and because he presents no flight risk.

AttorneysSteven Metcalf and Martin Tankleff filed a 230-page motion for bail to see Pezzola, 43, of Rochester let out on conditional release pending trial.

Pezzola, who has now been jailed for five months in a Washington, D.C., jail,is accusedwith assaulting a United States Capitol Police officer during the Jan. 6 riots andallegedly ripping away the officer's riot shield, which he then used to break open a Capitol window. That gavepeople unfettered access to the interior of the building, according to court documents.

He is charged with two counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States; two counts ofassaulting, resisting, or impeding a Capitol Police officer, and other charges. Pezzola pleaded not guilty in early May to an 11-count superseding indictment.

In a release, Pezzola's daughters, ages 16 and 20, said they miss their father and want him to come home, because "he is the rock of our family.When we see people charged with worse crimes than our father, we cant help but think of how our father remains incarcerated.

Pezzola's common-law wife Lisa Magee said her husband "participated in a social justice movement, just like so many other people have over the past two years. However, my husband is being treated differently because he was arrested in connection with incidents that happened on January 6, 2021.

USA Today reports that at least535people have been arrested in connection with the breach of the Capitol. Pezzola is charged under the same indictment with fellow Proud Boys Matthew Greene, of Syracuse, and William Pepe, of Beacon, Dutchess County.

Like Pezzola, Greene is being detained without bail, while Pepe is free on his own recognizance.

Pezzola's attorneys Tankleff and Metcalf said in a release The continued detention of Dominic is discriminatory and deprives him of his constitutional rights.

"Dominics human rights are being denied daily. Dominic is also being denied his right to aid in his own defense.

Metcalf and Tankleff outline three major arguments forPezzola's pre-trial release:

Prosecutors allege Pezzola and others conspired, planned and then participated in an effort to interfere with Congress counting the Electoral College votes to certify President Joe Biden's victory. The Proud Boys, a white supremacist extremist organizationlabeled as a hate group,used social media, text messaging, and encrypted applications to recruit and organize their efforts.

Assistant United States Attorney Erik Kenerson wrote in a February filing that Pezzola committed a crime of terrorism.

"Felony destruction of property ...is a federal crime of terrorism," Kenerson wrote. He said the law defines a "'federal crime of terrorismas an offense that 'is calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion, or to retaliate against government conduct.'"

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If a federal judge denies the motion to release Pezzola, his attorneys ask that he be released to the custody of a third party (most likely his wife) and placed into a pretrial services agency monitoring program that could include electronic monitoring, work release, and curfew.

A Des Moinesman, Douglas Jensen, 41, a QAnon adherent who was videotaped at the Capitol breach was freed by a federal judge Tuesday into house arrest and electronic monitoring, the Associated Press reported. Jensen was not accused of toppling any barricades, damaging any property or fighting with anybody at the Capitol, the judge said.

Contact Will Clevelandat wcleveland@gannett.com. Follow him onTwitter @willcleveland13.Thanks to our subscribers for supporting quality local journalism. If you arent a subscriber, please consider a digital subscription.

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Pezzola's attorneys argue Proud Boy should have access to laptop and be released pending trial - Democrat & Chronicle