A man on trial for conspiracy in connection to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 has filed a motion to have his case dismissed in light of the footage released by Tucker Carlson.
Lawyers for Dominic Pezzola have asked for the case against him to be dismissed with prejudice “due to the recent revelations on the Tucker Carlson show, as associated testimony on Thursday, March 2, as well as due to ... violations revealed on March 8 which establish that the prosecution has been monitoring attorney/ client communication of defendants, destroying evidence and doctoring and fabricating evidence involving confidential human sources.”
"The footage is plainly exculpatory; as it establishes that the Senate chamber was never violently breached, and — in fact — was treated respectfully by January 6 protestors," Pezzola's council wrote. "To the extent protestors entered the chamber, they did so under the supervision of Capitol Police."
Further, the filing states, "It was not Pezzola or codefendants who caused the Congress to recess. Congress interrupted its own proceedings. " Pezzolla Motion to Dismiss Brady Recess by Christopher Karr on Scribd
Pezzola is a flooring contractor from upstate New York and was a registered Democrat, according to the Democrat & Chronicle. He is currently on trial in Washington DC alongside four other alleged members of the men’s organization the Proud Boys – Enrique Tarrio, Zachary Rehl, Ethan Nordean, and Joseph Biggs.
The trial began on Jan. 17, just over two years after protestors and law enforcement faced off at the Capitol.
Each defendant was charged with seditious conspiracy, one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, and one count of conspiracy to impede U.S. officials. They are also charged with obstructing an official proceeding and interfering with law enforcement during civil disorder. During opening statements, prosecutors for the federal government said the men knowingly and purposefully planned to overthrow the U.S. government.
Pezzola was also charged with destruction of property and robbery. Videos presented by the prosecution show Pezzola and other men struggling with law enforcement. The interaction culminated with Pezzola holding the officer’s riot shield. Subsequent videos show Pezzola using the riot shield to clear glass from a window in the Capitol building – which the prosecution says made it possible for people to enter the building
Pezzola’s lawyers have argued the window had already been broken.
Carlson released footage from the Capitol showing police escorting accused insurrectionists around the building on Jan. 6 – at one point opening a door for the “QAnon Shaman.” The footage had never previously been made available to the public.
“Now, the Justice Department also kept a lid on that video footage and in fact, in some cases, DOJ did not share it with criminal defendants who had been charged on January 6 in violation of their constitutional rights,” Carlson wrote in an opinion piece on March 7. “There was no justification for keeping the secret any longer and a powerful argument to be made that sunlight is always and everywhere the best disinfectant and in fact, because it was video evidence, it is to some extent self-explanatory.”
“The media and politicians, the people in charge, have talked about January 6 every day since it happened for 26 months and so at some point, the evidence should be presented to the public,” he added. “In free countries, governments do not lie about protests as a pretext to gain more power for themselves.”
“They don't selectively edit videos for propaganda services and then lie about them and fake hearings and show trials, but that's exactly what happened and every member of Congress should ask why that happened, but Democrats in the Senate, the Democratic leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, is not asking why,” said Carlson.
