The “Trump-made-me-do-it” defense already looks like a long shot.
Condemning evidence in the Capitol’s deadly siege last month – including social media posts showing off their actions insurgents are claiming in court that they followed the orders of then-President Donald Trump on January 6. But the legal strategy has already been shot down by at least one judge and experts believe the argument is unlikely to get anyone off the hook for the uprising in which five people died, including a police officer.
“This alleged defense, if recognized, would undermine the rule of law, because then, just like a king or a dictator, the president can dictate what is illegal and what is not in this country,” the U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell recently said preliminary arrest of William Chrestman, a suspected member of the Kansas City chapter of the Proud Boys. “And that’s not how we work here.”
Chrestman’s lawyers argued in court documents that Trump gave the mob “express permission and encouragement” to do what they did, and gave those who obeyed him a “viable defense against criminal liability.”
‘It’s an astonishing thing to imagine you storming the American Capitol with sticks and flags and bar spray, against armed and highly trained law enforcers. Only someone who thought they had an official endorsement would even try to do something. And a proud boy who paid attention would believe he did, ‘Chrestman’s lawyers wrote.
Trump was acquitted of inciting the uprising during his second indictment, where Democrats argued the same arguments the lawyers are advocating in the criminal court. Some Republican lawmakers have said the better place for the accusations against Trump is also in court.
Meanwhile, prosecutors have so far brought charges against more than 250 people in the attack, including conspiracy, assault, civil disorder and the obstruction of an official process. Authorities have suggested that rare rioting charges may be filed against some. Hundreds of Trump supporters were photographed and videotaped as they stormed the Capitol and scores posted selfies in the building on social media so they could not exactly argue in court that they were not there. The blame on Trump is perhaps the best defense they have.
“What’s the best argument if you’re walking around on a videotape in the Capitol with a cap in your hand? says Sam Shamansky, representing Dustin Thompson, a man from Ohio who is accused of stealing a coat hanger during the riot.
Shamansky said his client would never have been at the Capitol on January 6 if Trump had not called him there. Trump, he added, was working on a “cunning but effective conspiracy to brainwash supporters” into believing the election was stolen, putting them in the position where they “felt the need to defend their country on request of the Commander-in-Chief ‘.
“I think it fits perfectly,” he said of the defense. “The more nuanced question is: Who is going to buy it? What kind of jury panel do you need to understand this? ”
While experts believe that the accusation of Trump may not get their clients off the hook, it can help with sentencing when they ask the judge for leniency.
“It can probably be considered a mitigating factor that this person truly believes they are following the instructions of the leader of the United States,” said Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney in Michigan who is now a professor at the University. of Michigan’s law school is, said. .
It could also bolster potential cases against the former president, experts say.
“The defense is dead on arrival,” said Bradley Simon, a defense attorney in New York City, a former federal prosecutor. “But I do think that these statements by defendants alleging that Trump is causing a problem for him if the Department of Justice or the Attorney General in DC were to look into the charges against him for inciting the uprising.”
While the legal bar is high for the prosecution of Trump during the siege of the Capitol, the former president is already facing a lawsuit from the Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson accusing him of conspiring with extremist groups to prevent Congress from certifying the election results. And more lawsuits could come.
Trump has spread unsubstantiated demands over the election for weeks, addressing thousands of supporters during a rally near the White House before the riot of the Capitol and told that they had gathered in Washington “to save our democracy.” Later, Trump said, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching to the Capitol building to make your voices heard peacefully and patriotically.”
A lawyer for Jacob Chansley, the shirtless man wearing face paint and a hat with horns in the Capitol, attached a marked transcript of Trump’s speech before the riot to a court file in which he demanded that Chansley be released from detention. Defense attorney Albert Watkins said the federal government was sending a “disturbing, icy message” that Americans would be prosecuted “if they do what the president asks them to do.”
Defense attorneys have used other strategies without better success. In one case, the judge referred to a lawyer’s portrayal of the riots as mere transgression or civil disobedience as ‘unconvincing and detached from reality’. In another, a judge rejected a man’s claim that he was ‘deceived’ into joining the anti-government oath-keeping group and taking part in the attack on the Capitol.
Other defendants linked to militant groups also tried to shift the blame on Trump by demanding their provisional release from prison. An attorney for Jessica Watkins said the member of the Oathholders believes that local militias will be called to action if Trump calls on the Insurrection Act to remain in office. Watkins dismissed the Oath Keepers during a court hearing on Friday, saying she was “terrified” by fellow members of the far-right militia.
“However fraudulent, her intentions are in no way related to an intention to overthrow the government, but to support what she believes is the legitimate government,” her lawyer wrote.
Meanwhile, a lawyer for Dominic Pezzola, another alleged Proud Boy, said he “acted out of the delusional belief that he was a ‘patriot’ protecting his country.” Defense attorney Jonathan Zucker describes Pezzola as “one of the millions of Americans who have been deceived by the president’s deception.”
“As a result, many of those who have heeded his call will spend quite a few portions if not the rest of their lives in prison,” he wrote. “Meanwhile, Donald Trump is resuming his life of luxury and privilege.”