A man arrested and charged for storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 is arguing to a judge that his consumption of right-wing online content should be treated like a drug addiction, Law&Crime reports.
Douglas Jensen of Iowa made headlines in July when a judge released him to home incarceration after citing his lack of understanding regarding the U.S. government -- because when he was at the Capitol building on Jan. 6, he apparently thought he was at the White House.
But another condition the judge imposed for Jensen's release was that he would not be allowed to access the internet. Jensen violated that condition within 30 days of being released from jail. On Aug. 13, Jensen was found by a pretrial services officer to be watching a far-right video.
"When confronted about this obvious violation of his release conditions, defendant provided his Pretrial Services Officer with one excuse after another," Assistant U.S. Attorney Hava Arin Levenson Mirell claimed in a motion to revoke pre-trial release. "First, he claimed that the phone belonged to his daughter. Jensen's daughter, however, later told Pretrial Services that she had gotten a new phone almost three weeks ago. Then, Jensen claimed that his wife – the same individual who swore, under oath, to notify the Court immediately if Jensen violates a condition of release – facilitated his violation by leaving the news on for him when she left for work in the morning. Finally, Jensen claimed not to know the password to the iPhone, only to later enter the password for his Pretrial Services Officer."
This Sunday, Jensen admitted that he was watching a livestream of Mike Lindell's "cyber symposium" that claimed to show proof that the 2020 election was rigged.
"Mr. Jensen concedes that he was in violation of his pre-trial release conditions by accessing program(s) being streamed from the internet," the response motion from attorney Christopher M. Davis read. "Though his wife may have been less than clear on the distinction between 'direct versus indirect' access to the internet, Mr. Jensen knew that this was not allowed and is prepared to accept the consequences of his actions."
"Jensen had been working in the yard that week, cutting down a large tree" and that such work "was exceptionally hot." Afterward, the motion noted, "he would go into the garage to cool down" and "listen to the radio."
"Mr. Jensen asks this Court to give him another chance," the filing concluded. "He will comply with his release condition to be evaluated and will further comply with any recommended mental health treatment plan. He asks this Court to consider imposing a sanction short of revocation and incarceration pending trial. If a drug abuser relapses, there is typically a sanction protocol in place to help the person deal with his/her substance abuse issues. Mr. Jensen requests that this Honorable Court treat his violation is a similar manner."