(Tony Sifert, Headline USA) A Jan. 6 defendant — a single father — who was arrested in Texas in December 2021 and detained without bond sat for at least five weeks in a Washington D.C. prison without appearing before a federal judge, according to RedState.
Jan6 Defendant Being Illegally Held.
You don’t see this very often in federal court, but one of the Jan 6 Defendants I think is actually being held illegally. I will explain. The Defendant is Lucas Denney. His case number in DC is: 21mj686. /1
— Leslie McAdoo Gordon (@McAdooGordon) March 4, 2022
“Lucas Denney is being held illegally,” RedState reported on Monday. “He has not appeared before a federal judge in DC since his arrival, although that will change Monday afternoon as a result of his lawyer seeking his release.”
During Denney’s appearance Monday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui apologized for the delay in his case and demanded that federal prosecutors account for his treatment.
“You have been lost for months,” Faruqui told Denney, according to Politico. “There’s no excuse to treat a human being like that [and] no circumstance under which any person should be forgotten.”
Judge Faruqui also criticized the government’s handling of its entire J6 witch hunt.
“The government has chosen to charge the largest case ever,” Faruqui said.
“If they do not have the resources to do it, they ought not do that [and] it feels like the government has bitten off more than it can chew here.”
“I am utterly at a loss,” he concluded. “I see a person’s rights that have been trampled.”
Prosecutors had no explanation for how Denney fell through the cracks, Politico reported.
“I understand the concerns of the court,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Rozzoni said.
For his part, Denney described to the judge the impact that his illegal detention has had on his children.
“They’ve failed every grade in their school,” he said. “It’s been hard on them.”
