Judge Chutkan signals long delay in Trump case as she adds other trial to April calendar

U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan has set an April 2 trial date for a Jan. 6 defendant despite former President Donald Trump's March 4 trial date.

In a court order on Wednesday, Chutkan set Anthony Mastanduno's trial for April.

Mastanduno, a 60-year-old North Carolina man, was seen on video assaulting Capitol police on Jan. 6, 2021.

"Videos and still images taken by others in the crowd showed Mastanduno at around 4:30 p.m. as he threw an object toward officers, utilized a telescoping baton to strike at officers in the tunnel, and pushed into the tunnel with a stolen police shield," a Department of Justice charging documents said.

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Politico reporter Kyle Cheney said the trial date suggested that Chutkan does not expect to hear Trump's election interference case in early April.

"Judge Chutkan just set an April 2 trial date for a Jan. 6 defendant. Seems unlikely she expects Trump trial to get back on the books before at least mid-April," Cheney wrote on X.

Chutkan said last year that Trump's trial schedule was on hold after the former president appealed the indictment. Trump's team has argued he had absolute presidential immunity when he sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election.