Capitol riot suspect from California says he can’t get fair trial because of Biden voters

The Sacramento-area man facing the most serious charges in the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot case continues to signal that he intends to go to trial, with his lawyers asking a federal judge to move his case out of Washington, D.C..

Lawyers for Sean Michael McHugh, an Auburn construction worker who is being held in jail in Washington as a danger to the community, asked a judge Tuesday to move proceedings in his case to Michigan because they argue media coverage of the attack has tainted the jury pool in Washington.

The motion for a change of venue argues that the District of Columbia’s population is only about 690,000 and that many of its residents work for the federal government and may have strong opinions about the events of Jan. 6.

“The government has characterized the events of January 6 – including the attempted obstruction in which the government alleges Mr. McHugh participated – as an attack on our elections, government institutions generally, and democracy as a whole, (and) suggest that those District residents closely connected to the government are more likely to view themselves as the direct victims of the events,” they wrote. “Second, even District residents that have no direct connection to the government reported feeling deeply traumatized by the events that took place so close to where they live and work.”

As evidence, McHugh’s lawyers cited a Canadian Broadcasting Corp. radio interview with a D.C. resident conducted on Jan. 7 who described the “atrocities that took place last night.”

“I’ve been having a lot of conversations with people this morning, loved ones,” Rahul Dubey is quoted as saying. “We’re all hurting. We’re terrified. We’re in shock.

“And I think it’s going to take a while. This is by far the darkest moment of my 45-year existence.”

Defendant argues Biden voters would tilt jury

McHugh is one of four Sacramento-area residents charged in connection with the insurrection, and the only one being held in custody.

One, Valerie Elaine Ehrke of Arbuckle, pleaded guilty last year to a single misdemeanor count and was sentenced to probation. Cases are pending for two others — Sacramento GOP activist Jorge Riley and Tommy Frederick Allan of Rocklin.

McHugh faces eight felony and two misdemeanor counts — the most serious charges among the four — and is accused of using bear spray against Capitol police officers.

His lawyers have argued he was simply expressing his First Amendment rights to free speech, and his trial currently is scheduled to begin June 9.

In their request to move his trial, McHugh’s lawyers also argue that President Joe Biden won 92 percent of the D.C. vote, further endangering the possibility of a fair trial for supporters of former President Donald Trump.

“According to the government’s theory of the case, Mr. McHugh and the others charged in connection with January 6 did what they did in order to prevent Joseph Biden from becoming President notwithstanding his share of the electoral and popular vote,” they wrote. “That is, the government’s theory is that Mr. McHugh and others were seeking to nullify the votes of an overwhelming majority of District residents – in the only national election in which District residents have any say, given their lack of representation in Congress.”

Riot media coverage

And, they claim, media coverage and statements by judges that Capitol riot prosecutions are designed to prevent another attack also taints the jury pool.

“As such, the residents of the District sitting as jurors are highly likely to view Mr. McHugh not only as someone who victimized them, but also as someone who might victimize them again in the future, raising a concern about punishing for propensity,” McHugh’s lawyers argued. “Given the electoral makeup of the District, it would be impossible to empanel a jury that was not full of people that the government charges were the targets of Mr. McHugh’s alleged offenses.”

The request to move the trial to Michigan is based on a similar motion filed in another case asking for that trial to be moved to Colorado, but U.S. District Judge John D. Bates noted in a February hearing for McHugh that changes of venue motions are rarely successful.

This story was originally published March 16, 2022 at 9:53 AM.