Hogan’s determination appeared borne of a long-running vexation with aggregate Jan. 6 defendants’ quality to entree grounds and hole for proceedings astatine definite detention facilities. Though immoderate judges person rejected defendants’ complaints arsenic overblown, Hogan recovered that the Rappahannock installation was peculiarly ill-suited to grip the monolithic amounts of video grounds Nichols would request to reappraisal earlier trial.
Hogan rejected a connection by prosecutors to transportation Nichols to a installation successful Lewisburg, Va., which helium said had experienced akin issues with entree to evidence.
Nichols is 1 of the astir high-profile defendants charged for unit successful transportation with the Jan. 6 attack. His chilling, livestreamed diatribes before, during and aft the onslaught had been prominently featured by the Jan. 6 prime committee and successful court.
“We’re not going to person our predetermination oregon our state stolen. If we find retired you politicians voted for it, we’re going to resistance your fucking ass done the streets,” Nichols said arsenic helium marched to the U.S. Capitol.
Prosecutors say helium plotted with a codefendant, Alex Harkrider, to bring weapons to Washington and prosecute successful violence. Hogan agreed successful March 2021 that Nichols presented a information to the community, warranting his pretrial incarceration.
Nichols had primitively been housed astatine a correctional installation successful Washington, D.C., but had been transferred to Rappahannock aft a convulsive incidental successful the jail. Nichols maintains helium wasn’t progressive successful the alleged unit but his lawyer said helium was placed successful solitary confinement and had his belongings taken from him earlier helium was transferred to the different jail.
For months, McBride has filed a bid of motions seeking Nichols’ merchandise from pretrial detention. Most recently, helium complained that jailhouse officials astatine the D.C. installation — anterior to Nichols’ transportation to Rappahannock — stole a thumb thrust that included attorney-client protected grounds helium needed to hole for the trial. McBride alleged that the officials whitethorn person passed that accusation to the authorities to assistance disrupt Nichols’ defense.
Hogan said determination was nary grounds to enactment McBride’s assertion that thing sinister had happened and repeatedly rejected McBride’s characterization of the incidents, which some prosecutors and D.C. jailhouse officials rejected.
But Hogan nevertheless agreed that the issues with Nichols’ entree to find were morganatic and warranted his impermanent merchandise from custody up of his trial, which has inactive not been scheduled. Prosecutors urged Hogan to enactment with the parties and acceptable a day arsenic rapidly arsenic possible.