In a court filing late Thursday, federal prosecutors in Phoenix wrote that “strong evidence, including Chansley’s own words and actions at the Capitol, supports that the intent of the Capitol rioters was to capture and assassinate elected officials in the United States government.”
On Friday, however, Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Allison walked back the claim of an assassination plot, saying that while it “may very well be appropriate at a trial,” raising it at this stage could “mislead the court.”
The 18-page memo, which asked a judge to keep Chansley detained before his trial, said the 33-year-old Arizona man left an ominous note for Vice President Pence at his desk in the Senate chamber: “It’s only a matter of time, justice is coming.”
Chansley — who goes by Jake Angeli — was arrested and charged last week in connection with his role in the riot.
Gerald A. Williams, his public defender, said in court Friday that his client “was there merely acting as a protester,” and that there was no evidence he engaged in violence.
But Magistrate Judge Deborah M. Fine ordered him held until trial, citing evidence that he incited the mob inside the Capitol and ignored pleas from police to desist.
“This is not a protest. This is a riot, this is an insurrection,” she said. “Mr. Chansley’s idea of protesting is committing the unlawful acts that we’re discussing here,” which she described as “frightening not only to people at the Capitol but people across the United States of America.”
Acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia Michael Sherwin downplayed the idea of a specific conspiracy or plan to kidnap or kill lawmakers.
“We don’t have any direct evidence of kill/capture teams,” Sherwin said at a Friday news briefing.
In an earlier a statement to The Washington Post, St. Louis lawyer Albert S. Watkins said he had been retained as Chansley’s attorney and called for President Trump to pardon him.
Watkins claimed that Chansley acted in a “peaceful and compliant fashion” toward law enforcement and was cooperating with their investigation. Besides, he argued, the Arizona man only went to the Capitol because he was following Trump’s invitation.
“He took seriously the countless messages of President Trump. He believed in President Trump,” Watkins said. “Like tens of millions of other Americans, Chansley felt — for the first time in his life — as though his voice was being heard.”
Law enforcement officials have cautioned that there may be a variety of motives among those who stormed the Capitol. An FBI investigation is seeking to determine whether some intended to do more than disrupt the certification of President-elect Joe…
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