(Ken Silva, Headline USA) More than three years after the Justice Department charged Kansas man William Pope with eight crimes in relation to his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill protest, a U.S. judge has delayed Pope’s trial—suggesting that Pope will be pardoned after President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
“US District Judge Rudolph Contreras, a Barack Obama appointee, said during a hearing Thursday that there is a ‘real possibility’ Trump will eventually pardon Pope,” CNN reported Thursday.
“Contreras said that the ‘conservation of resources’ warranted holding off on the impending trial since going through jury selection would be a ‘significant burden’ on the public as well as the court if a trial began only for Trump to later pardon Pope.”
Pope was set to stand trial on Dec. 2, but will instead wait until a Dec. 13 status conference to set a new date. According to Pope, DOJ prosecutors weren’t happy with Judge Contreras’s decision.
Judge Contreras has granted my motion to continue my trial because he agreed a long trial was not a good use of judicial resources considering the likelihood of January 6 charges being dropped. No new date has been set yet, but we'll have a status hearing in 30 days.…
— 🇺🇸 (@FreeStateWill) November 14, 2024
Over the last three years, Pope has seemingly done more—and better—work than most Jan. 6 defense attorneys. He’s dug up footage of plainclothes FBI agents among the protestors, exposed illicit behavior by undercover Capitol Police officers, and even successfully moved to have some of his charges dropped.
Pope said he’s going to write his PhD thesis on Jan. 6 when his case is finally finished.
“For almost four years, I’ve put my Ph.D. program on hold to defend myself against January 6 charges. This fall, I’ve decided to take my preliminary exams and finally begin my dissertation research,” Pope said earlier this year on his GiveSendGo page, seeking donations.
“Following January 6, I lost my job teaching at Kansas State University. Since then, I’ve burned through savings and have done odd jobs to get by. I made the decision to not to ask for donations during this time, because I wanted to work to survive,” he said.
“My Ph.D. will require a lot of time and focus to complete. I intend to do my research on the legal battles January 6 defendants have faced because I believe I am in a unique position to thoroughly document this and preserve the historical record. But making this research work my focus will make it difficult for me to hold another job to support myself.”
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
