Lamberth said the Marshals Service’s policy for federal prisoners before the trial requires several authorizations for an interview, including the US attorney general’s office, the judge and those responsible for the detention center. The judge said he was asked by the delegates whether he approved the interview at the Alexandria Detention Center and he said he did not.
Watkins, who lives in St. Louis, denied any effort to cheat.
“There is no subterfuge here, at all. … I have not tried, under any circumstances, to subterfuge this court, certainly, and not to the facility where my client is currently staying, “said the lawyer. “It just isn’t my style.”
However, Watkins seemed to admit that the prison did not know about his plans to use a virtual visit from a lawyer to make his client available to the media.
“The prison was told only that this was a lawyer-client interview video. I asked for a Zoom conference with him, ”said the defense attorney. “I didn’t tell them it was for an ’60 Minutes’ interview.”
“I’m sure not,” Lamberth fired back.
In a sign of his discontent, after the court hearing, the judge publicly released an email that a spokesman for the Alexandria prison sent to Watkins’ office last month making clear the various approvals needed.
The main subject of Friday’s court session was Chansley’s request to be released from custody, pending trial on the various charges he faces, including interfering with the police during a civil disorder and obstruction of Congress.
Watkins spent weeks working to portray Chansley as a harmless, well-meaning naive, deceived by former President Donald Trump’s allegations that the election was stolen and acting on the mistaken belief that the commander in chief was being true. He spent Friday’s audience comparing Chansley to Forrest Gump, drawing attention to his hobbies as a painter and potter and saying that the “spearhead” attached to the mast that Chansley wielded inside the Capitol was just decorative.
Chansley highlighted these points in his “60 Minutes” interview.
“I sang a song. And that is part of shamanism, ”he said. “It is about creating positive vibrations in a sacred chamber. I also prevented people from stealing and vandalizing that sacred space, the Senate. OK?”
At Friday’s hearing, Watkins stated that Chansley’s eccentric style – he raped the Capitol shirtless, in a horned headdress, with wide exposed tattoos – points out that he was not a leader of the onslaught, but a carefree follower. He did not commit violence inside the building and avoided theft of muffins from a Capitol break room, the defense attorney said.
Watkins also argued that the video shows Chansley simply entered the Capitol and was, in fact, invited by the police. “The Capitol Police is coming down the stairs. There is no barricade. There are no police lines and the police are saying that the building is yours, ”said the defense lawyer. “If you see my client’s horns, he’s just going up the steps. … The door through which my client came in is actually being held by a Capitol police officer. “
Lamberth seemed incredulous about that statement, saying that he had seen a photo on the front page of The Washington Post showing a Capitol window being shattered the moment Chansley was moving through a nearby door.
Watkins also argued that releasing Chansley would be a gesture of goodwill and national reconciliation, ensuring that “people like Jacob Chansley and millions of others who really adored the former president [Donald] Trump is not subject to retribution and ridicule. “
“There are too many of them to look at with disdain. There will be compassion and patience that will be required as many Americans get rid of a long period of propaganda-laden leadership, “said the defense attorney.
The government, however, said Watkins’s cheerful portrayal of Chansley misinterprets a more sinister side. Chansley, they said, ignored several clear warnings to stay away from the Capitol. He hovered over law enforcement while wielding his spear and left a threatening note for then Vice President Mike Pence on the Senate floor, they said.
Prosecutor Kimberly Paschall also painted as absurd the idea that Chansley thought he was allowed to enter the Capitol amid the turmoil.
“There is no way he could imagine that the police were escorting him into the building when the window was being broken. … Alarms were going off, ”said Paschall. “There is no reasonable interpretation of the events that this man could believe was all right … that he could continue up those steps.
If he is released from prison, prosecutors say, there is no guarantee that he will not resume violent and anti-government activities. And Paschall said that freeing Chansley is a very big risk, as long as there are indications that people are willing to take violent measures to assert their views that Trump won the election.
“While we can all hope that January 6 was a once-in-a-lifetime event, we can’t trust it,” she said.
Lamberth did not issue an immediate decision on Chansley’s release request. The judge said he wants to review the video before issuing a decision.