A pair of Jan. 6 misdemeanor cases finally ticketed for trial years later were put on hold by federal judges anticipating President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration could lead to pardons for non-violent protesters.
U.S. District Judges Carl Nichols and Rudolph Contreras, appointed by Trump and former President Barack Obama, respectively, eschewed Biden administration Justice Department objections to defendants' requests to delay proceedings on misdemeanor trespassing charges stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol protest.
The judges sided with defendants' requests over DOJ prosecutor's objections, saying they did not want to use court time, resources, and impaneling jurors for cases that might ultimately be made moot by presidential clemency when Trump is sworn in Jan. 20, Politico reported.
These are reportedly the first instances of federal judges denying DOJ objections to side with defendants' requests for delays, citing potential clemency that Trump has long teased on the campaign trail before his election victory earlier this month.
"There's a real possibility of that happening," Contreras said, granting defendant William Pope's delay motion.
Pope is representing himself in a trial that was slated for December, but he requested trial dates in February after Trump is sworn in.
Nichols also declined an imminent trial date for three defendants charged with misdemeanor trespassing, according to the report.
When prosecutors could not confirm the trial would proceed under a Trump administration, Nichols set an April trial date and postponed all other deadlines, Politico reported.
"As soon as the prosecutor asked for a trial date, Judge Nichols confronted her on whether she could assure the court that this matter would be moving forward to trial once the new administration takes office," said Marina Medvin, attorney for two of those defendants. "Of course, the prosecutor could make no such assurances."
Other judges on the Washington, D.C., federal bench called defendants' "speculative" pardons and clemency and refused delays on "potential" of that happening, according to the report.
Most of those cases, though, were not yet ready for trial, Contreras noted.
"I'm focused on conservation of the resources of the parties, the court and citizens," Contreras said, rejecting Assistant U.S. Attorney Benet Kearney offer to present "efficient" cases to not consume limited court resources and time.
"I'm not reconsidering," Contreras, the Obama-appointed judge, replied, according to Politico.
Before the 2024 Republican primary, Trump called on President Joe Biden "to release the J6 hostages."
"They've suffered enough," Trump said Jan. 6, 2024, during a campaign rally. "They have to release them. I call them hostages ... Release the J-6 hostages, Joe. Release them, Joe. You can do it real easy, Joe."
After officially winning the GOP nomination and scoring a Supreme Court victor ruling in favor of a Jan. 6 protester against obstruction of justice charges for a "peaceful protest," Trump repeated his call for President Joe Biden to release the Jan. 6 "hostages."
"The Supreme Court ruled that Biden's Department of Justice has wrongly prosecuted hundreds of Americans for peacefully protesting on Jan. 6," Trump told a June 28 rally in Chesapeake, Virginia.
"Those people have been treated so people have been treated so badly, especially when you compare them with people that ripped apart and killed people in Portland and in Seattle and in other places. They have been treated so badly.
"So we're asking. Based on the decision, they should immediately be released," Trump told the crowd. "Immediately release the J6 hostages."