 |
| Photo Credit: AP. |
A New Mexico man who carried confederate flag into the U.S. Capitol during the deadly insurrection is facing bench trial as he goes to court, AP reports. In April a federal judge acquitted Kevin Seefried who carried a Confederate flag inside the Capitol after he entered the building with his son, Hunter.
The Seefrieds were “early, aggressive and active participants” in the Capitol breach and among the first rioters to enter the bulling on Jan. 6, 2021, AP quote prosecutors to have said.
On Monday the bench trial of Seefried and his son, Hunter
would commence and U.S District Judge Trevor McFadden will hear testimony
without a jury. The implication of the absence of a jury is that McFadden will
decide their cases.
According to AP, McFadden has criticized prosecutor’s
handling of Capitol riot cases, suggesting that the Justice Department has been
unjustly tougher on Capitol riot defendants when compared to people arrested at
protests against police and racial injustice after the murder of George Floyd
in 2020 by a Minneapolis police officer.
The Washington Post had reported that McFadden had criticized
prosecutors for seeking jail time for some nonviolent Capitol riot defendants
but not for left-wing activists who protested Trump’s nomination of Supreme
Court Just Brett Kavanaugh.
The Associated Press reported that in April McFadden
acquitted New Mexico resident Matthew Martin of misdemeanor charges that he
illegally entered the Capitol and engaged in disorderly conduct after he walked
into the building.
McFadden also acquitted a New Mexico elected official of
engaging in disorderly conduct but convicted him of illegally entering
restricted Capitol grounds in March.
No fewer than four other Capitol riot defendants have bench
trials scheduled for this year.
About five Capitol riot defendants have been convicted of
all charges while more than 300 others have pleaded guilty to riot offenses,
mostly misdemeanors punishable by no more than one year in prison, according to
AP. More than 800 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the
deadly riot of January 6 at the Capitol.
Former President Donald Trump had organized a “Stop the
Steal” rally on January 6 2021 in Washington where he make a speech urging his
supporters to make their voices heard at the U.S Capitol. Mr Seefried and
Hunter travelled to the city to hear Trump’s speech and later joined the
rioters that stormed the Capitol, AP quoted prosecutors to have said.
They climbed over a wall near a stairwell and scaffolding in
the northwest section of the Capitol and were among the first rioters to
approach the building near the Senate Wing Door, according to prosecutors.
After watching other rioters use a police shield and a wood
plank to break a window, Hunter Seefried used a gloved fist to clear a shard of
glass in one of the broken windowpanes, prosecutors said.
“The defendants and scores of other rioters entered the
Capitol building through that window,” prosecutors wrote, according to AP.
The Seefrieds joined other rioters in confronting Capitol
police officer Eugene Goodman and in looking for members of Congress and the
location where they would be counting the Electoral College votes for the 2020
presidential election, according to prosecutors.
Kevin Seefried told the FBI that he threatened Goodman with
violence, saying: “And then I threw my stick down. I said, ‘You can shoot me,
man, but we’re comin’ in,’” according to prosecutors.
Kevin Seefried brought a Confederate battle flag from home
and was photographed displaying it on a large flagpole as he walked through the
Capitol.
“Indeed, the flag that Kevin Seefried carried itself served
to signal his intent: the Confederate Battle Flag, a symbol of violent
opposition to the United States government,” prosecutors wrote.
Kevin and Hunter Seefried are facing a felony count of
obstruction to an official proceeding, the joint session of Congress for
certifying President Joe Biden’s election victory.
Prosecutors said that Hunter Seefried told the FBI that he
went to Washington because he was concerned about “fraud” in the elections.