President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to pardon his supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but some of those same defendants are not waiting until he's sworn in before asking that their cases be set aside.
On Wednesday morning, lawyers for Christopher Carnell filed a motion to delay his status hearing scheduled for Nov. 8, and also potentially those of other defendants. It was promptly rejected by Judge Beryl Howell, who is overseeing the trials of several defendants charged with violently trespassing on federal grounds in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
But Carnell apparently hoped that Trump's victory would see his request granted. In that he's not alone.
"Throughout his campaign, President-elect Trump made multiple clemency promises to the January 6 defendants, particularly to those who were nonviolent participants," the filing said. "Mr. Carnell, who was an 18 year old nonviolent entrant into the Capitol on January 6, is expecting to be relieved of the criminal prosecution that he is currently facing when the new administration takes office."
That argument did not persuade Howell, who issued her rejection without comment. But less than an hour later, lawyers for another defendant, Jaimee Avery, asked for a delay of their own. "It would create a gross disparity for Ms. Avery to spend even a day in jail when the man who played a pivotal role in organizing and instigating the events of January 6 will now never face consequences for his role in it," the motion read.
As of the publication of this article, Howell has not yet responded to the request.
Since the insurrection, the Justice Department carried out one of the most wide-ranging criminal investigations in history, charging more than 1,500 people around the country for their roles in attacking the Capitol and the police officers defending the premises. That effort is likely to stop under Trump, who has decried their arrests as political persecution.
