Brandon Fellows at the US Capitol on January 6. The US Department of Justice.
A Capitol riot defendant chose, in spite of warnings from the judge, to represent himself at a bond hearing.
On Tuesday, Brandon Fellows admitted to several criminal offenses under cross-examination.
Fellow was denied by a federal judge his request to review his detention status.
The Capitol riot defendant who chose to represent himself at his latest bond hearing did not win his release but likely admitted to two additional felonies, according to a federal judge on Tuesday.
Brandon Fellows is facing a variety of charges related to his involvement in the January 6 Capitol Attack, including a felony charge of obstruction of an official proceeding. Federal prosecutors claim Fellows entered Capitol through a damaged window and then smoked marijuana in Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley's offices during the insurrection.
Despite being warned by US District Judge Trevor McFadden before Tuesday's hearing began, Fellows took the stand and admitted additional crimes arising from the riot as well as another criminal offense that occurred in the aftermath.
After being granted pretrial release in the beginning, the Albany man was remanded in custody in June after a string of violations that included a missed court-ordered mental health evaluation. Prosecutors claim that Fellows called his mother, a probation officer, and gave his number to his wife when he tried to contact him regarding allegations of harassing his ex-girlfriend.
McFadden granted Fellows the right to represent himself pro-se in the case after he requested it last month. However, McFadden warned Fellows that his lack of formal legal training could have adverse consequences for his case. Fellows stated to the court that he spent two weeks in DC Jail's legal library and was confident in his "maverick" decisions, CBS affiliate WUSA reported.
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Brandon Fellow's license photo. The US Department of Justice.
Fellows tried to argue Tuesday that Fellows' bond status should not be reexamined. However, the defendant accidentally admitted to thinking about another crime during Tuesday's hearing. Fellows recalled a conversation with his public defense attorney in which he asked McFadden's relatives if he could contact McFadden to disqualify him from his case. According to WUSA, he also told his ex-agent about a time when he had previously set the number of a wife judge as his emergency contact in order to get a new judge assigned for his case.
Fellows claimed that his public defense lawyer told him that it was illegal and would result in him being sent to jail for even more time.
Fellows stated that "When I'm anxious, I don't make clear decisions." According to WUSA, Fellows.
Insider did not receive a response from Fellows' public defender.
Mona Furst, Assistant US Attorney, cross-examined Fellows under oath and the defendant quickly confessed to climbing into Capitol via a broken window without permission. He also admitted that he had used the phone number of a former judge to find a new judge in an old case.
Fellows was denied a request by Judge McFadden to change his status and he was sent back to DC jail.
According to WUSA reporter Jordan Fischer, McFadden stated that "You've admitted extraordinary lapses in judgment here on the stand. Not least, was trying to disqualify New York state judges." "You have admitted to obstruction of justice, and you've also admitted to trying to disqualify me .
He said, "You have a pattern that is contemptuous for the criminal justice systems, and I simply don't have any confidence that you will obey my orders if you are released."
Business Insider has the original article.
