prosecutors have proposed a plea bargain for a Virginia man accused of attacking police with a huge stick at some point during the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection, attorneys for the government and defendant instructed a courtroom hearing on Wednesday.
The details of the plea deal provided to Jonathan Mellis, 34, of Williamsburg, Virginia, were no longer disclosed to the general public as part of a status hearing on the case before U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan.
Mellis faces ten revolt-related charges, including assaulting officials using a dangerous weapon. One or more of the prices are felonies, courtroom information implies.
court docket statistics also display that Mellis has been detained without bond since his arrest in February. Additionally, Judge Sullivan denied a defense request that Mellis be released from custody for a week, so he may want to attend his father’s funeral.
An FBI declaration of facts includes more than one picture of Mellis wielding a large stick at officials guarding the Capitol building. The assertion cites video pictures displaying Mellis “repeatedly placing and making stabbing actions in the direction of the officers with the weapon in his hand” and alleges he turned to “trying to strike the officers’ necks between their helmets and body-armor where they are no longer blanketed.”
The FBI says this sort of assault might have been “greater than enough to cause critical physical damage or loss of life.” The FBI charged Facebook postings wherein Mellis, using the pseudonym “Jon Gennaro”, said: “We proudly take responsibility for storming the fortress.”
Justice branch figures show that more than 570 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states on costs associated with the Capitol rebellion, consisting of over 170 charged with assaulting or impeding police.
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