US
Michigan Man Slapped With 10 Charges Over Capitol Riot Says Allegations Are Trumped Up
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A Michigan defendant, Isaac Thomas, claims he’s innocent of embellished charges he faces over the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol protest.
Thomas appeared in an Eastern Michigan District Court on Thursday charged with ten federal offenses, which include entering or remaining in a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a capitol building, act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings and assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon, according to court documents.
In an interview outside the court with ABC12, Thomas said he was shocked at the charges and thought he was only being charged with a second-degree misdemeanor. “I was being told I was being charged with one count of second-degree misdemeanor for trespassing. I get in there today, they hand me this paper that says you are a felon,” Thomas told the network.
He said he is baffled by the weapons charges. “I didn’t have any weapons. I don’t own weapons, I don’t own firearms,” he said. “If any laws were broken, it was not my intent in any way, shape, or form,” the defendant told reporters.
The government’s request to have the case transferred to the District of Columbia from the Eastern Michigan District was granted Thursday. Thomas was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond.
More than 900 people have been charged for offenses committed at the Capitol on Jan. 6, and over 400 have pleaded guilty. Over 330 have been convicted and sentenced, including Richard Barnett, the man who posed for photos at Pelosi’s desk.
Some convicted for their actions on Jan. 6 have been given long sentences and live in what many consider “dismal” conditions in jail. Some of the inmate’s complaints have included the denial of medical treatment and the water being shut off in their cells for multiple days.
Thomas will be due back in court on Feb. 7.
The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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