June 9, 2021 9:04 a.m.
Attorneys Michael van der Veen and Bruce Castor who just months ago condemned Capitol rioters in defense of former President Donald Trump during a Senate trial over allegations that he incited the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, are now defending at least three people charged in connection with the Capitol breach.
In February, while securing Trump’s acquittal, van der Veen and Castor had condemned the rioters who they said in a 78-page brief “wrought unprecedented havoc, mayhem and death,” to the Capitol. The attorneys also declared that the rioters’ actions “deserve robust and swift investigation and prosecution.”
The attorneys’ representation of the Capitol riot defendants, was first reported by NPR, which identified a Florida man with alleged ties to the Oath Keepers as among van der Veen’s clients. The defendant, Jason Dolan, joins a group of suspected members of the militia group who face conspiracy charges in the Capitol a
An Alabama man with homemade explosives. A Maryland man with a handgun. They re among at least 60 people arrested after US Capitol riot. Nick Penzenstadler, Kristine Phillips and Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY
You can help the FBI identify rioters who stormed the US Capitol UP NEXT
Federal authorities continued Tuesday to round up people following a deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week and to file new charges against others who had already been arrested.
Authorities said they kept a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia tied up for hours on Tuesday as they prepared to file more charges in what acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin called an unprecedented investigation.
Home state: Pennsylvania
Charges
Knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds; violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; and obstruction of an official proceeding
What happened
Vorous posted a photo on Facebook of himself inside the Capitol, standing in front of a bust of Abraham Lincoln, wearing a T-shirt that read NOT TODAY LIBERAL in white letters, while holding a red, white and blue cowboy hat, according to court documents. When Vorous posted the photo, according to the FBI, he asked if it looked staged and added: I promise the beanbags were real the mase [sic] is still burning on me aft a shower and 6hrs, the gas was real the flash grenades were also real.
02:59, 09.01.21 World 6440
Most of the defendants came from outside of the Washington region / REUTERS
Several dozen people arrested in the violent chaos at the U.S. Capitol made their first appearances in court on Thursday, and one of the arrested rioters needed a Russian interpreter.
This was reported by the Hromadske media outlet referring to The Washington Post.
According to The Washington Post, in D.C. Superior Court, 40 defendants were charged with unlawful entry of public property and were notified that prosecutors are reviewing evidence of an additional charge of curfew violation. Most of the defendants came from outside of the Washington region – including Oregon, Florida, Wyoming, Connecticut and Pennsylvania – though some were from the District, Maryland, and Virginia.