Topline
Jurors in the trial of Brandon Fellows, who is facing several felony charges for his actions during the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021, wrote a note to the judge in that case asking if Fellows has any jurors’ personal information—concerns that might stem from Fellow’s alleged history of harassing people.
Rioters wave flags on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021. (AP … [+]
Key Facts
The note from the jury (the note does not list the names of any specific jurors as that information is confidential) to U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, which is available through online court records, said, “we wanted to confirm that the defendant does not have any personal information on individual jurors, since he was representing himself.”
Specifically, the jury asked if Fellows had access to “name, address, etc.”
Fellows has waived his right to an attorney and decided to go “pro se,” or represent himself during the trial.
McFadden wrote back explaining that both the defense—Fellows—and prosecutors “are given limited biographical information on prospective jurors” at the beginning of the trial, but the sheets containing that information are collected by the court at the conclusion of the trial.
Fellows has a history of alleged harassment, having been accused of sending obscene voicemails to his probation officer, calling his probation officer’s mother and harassing a former girlfriend.
Key Background
On January 6, 2021, Fellows, of New York, allegedly entered the Capitol alongside a mob of Donald Trump-supporters who wanted to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory, and forced his way into Sen. Jeff Merkley’s (D-Ore.) office. There, he was photographed and spotted smoking marijuana. Ten days later, he was arrested on misdemeanor charges, which were eventually upgraded to felony charges of obstruction of an official proceeding, and aiding and abetting. He was initially released from jail ahead of his trial, but was brought back into custody after the incident with his probation officer and former girlfriend. He has been in jail since mid-2021. His trial began early last week.
Tangent
n addition to allegedly harassing people, Fellows has made a number of odd statements while representing himself during the trail. During his opening statement, he doubled down on his actions, saying that January 6 was “a beautiful day” and that he “truly do[es] like the fact that those senators and congressmen were in fear for their lives.” He also compared himself to Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of sexual assault in 2018 (Fellows argues both of them were falsely accused) and praised Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors and owner of X, formerly known as Twitter. Later in the trial, he said he “felt very comfy” sitting in Merkley’s chair.
What To Watch For
The jury’s verdict. The jury began deliberating after closing arguments Tuesday, and has been deliberating since. They will decide if Fellows is guilty on five separate counts: obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; entering and remaining in certain rooms in the Capitol Building; and disorderly conduct in the Capitol Building. If he’s ruled guilty on any of the charges, the judge will then set a court date for his sentencing hearing.
Further Reading
Jan. 6 Defendant Reportedly Says He Liked That Congressmen Feared For Their Lives, Compared Himself To Brett Kavanaugh And Called Jan. 6 ‘A Beautiful Day’ In Court (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/willskipworth/2023/08/31/jurors-in-accused-jan-6-rioters-trial-worried-defendant-has-their-personal-information/