'I have jurisdiction': Judge swiftly rebukes MAGA rioter's attempt to get case moved out of DC
July 10, 2023
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta on Monday made swift work of a January 6th defendant's attempt to get his case moved out of Washington D.C.
As reported by CBS News' Scott MacFarlane, Capitol rioter James Beeks on Monday asked Mehta to deliver a "summary judgement" on his case, to which Mehta replied that such a thing was not possible in a federal criminal case.
Beeks, who prior to his arrest for participating in the January 6th riots was an actor who played the role of Judas in a traveling production of "Jesus Christ: Superstar," then tried to argue that Mehta lacked jurisdiction to properly oversee his case.
According to MacFarlane, Mehta sat expressionless and listened to Beeks' arguments for a brief time before shutting him down.
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"You're charged in the District of Columbia with a federal crime," Mehta explained. "I have jurisdiction."
Beeks then asked Mehta to explain why this was the case, to which Mehta simply sent him back to his table.
Beeks, who in the past has claimed to be a "sovereign citizen," has regularly gotten himself in trouble when arguing his case before judges, including when Judge Beryl Howell accused him of making "gobbledygook" arguments in her court.