A teenager, believed to be the youngest suspect arrested in connection with the riots in the United States Capitol, was assaulted by another inmate and tested positive for Covid-19, defense lawyers said on Monday.
Bruno Joseph Cua, 18, is asking to be released from Grady County Jail in Oklahoma, where he has been in solitary confinement since he was arrested on February 5, defense lawyer William Zapf said in court documents seeking the release of your client before the trial.
“Mr. Cua was beaten and threatened by an internal colleague last weekend,” wrote Zapf. “We understand that the prisoner hit Mr. Cua in the face with an open hand, hurting his nose due to the use of the telephone, and then threatened him with respect to the incident.”
And on Saturday, a Covid-19 test for Cua was positive, Zapf said, and his lawyers argued that he is ready for a safe quarantine, perhaps in a hotel, if released.
But Assistant US Attorney Kimberly Paschall argued that Cua “poses a significant danger to the community” and that his posts on social media “clearly show the radicalized mind of a young man obsessed with preventing the normal functioning of democracy”.
The “nature and gravity of the danger to any person or community strongly favors detention in this matter,” replied Paschall.
The prosecutor did not address the alleged assault on Cua, who is from Milton, Georgia, while in custody. But she cited several photos taken of him during the January 6 uprising at the United States Capitol, all of which appeared to show the suspect without a mask.
Prosecutors have “serious concerns about the defendant’s willingness to take precautions against the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic,” according to Paschall.
Supporters of then President Donald Trump descended on Washington and invaded the United States Capitol on January 6, hoping to prevent Congress from formally accepting the victory of now President Joe Biden.
At least five people died in the riots, including a policeman who was injured during clashes with protesters. Two policemen who were there that day died of suicide.
Cua posted in his account in Parler that he planned to go to the nation’s capital on January 6 because “President Trump is calling us to FIGHT!”, Saying, “This is not a joke, this is where and when we make our booth. # 6 January, Washington DC ”, according to a criminal complaint.
Cua faces several charges stemming from the January 6 riot, including assaulting a federal official, disorderly conduct and entering a restricted building.
