On Wednesday, in conversation with NBC4's Scott MacFarlane, former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner outlined the reason so many January 6th Capitol insurrection defendants are trying to get their cases moved out of D.C. courts — and why this strategy is unlikely to help them at all.
"Do you think these defendants are likely to succeed in getting these cases moved out, either because the court's backlogged or because they're making a compelling case that it's not fair to be tried here?" asked MacFarlane.
"So I've had lots of cases where defendants would file for a 'change of venue,'" said Kirschner. "It's a relatively routine motion when it's a high-profile case. What they want to do is try to move it out to part of the country where people haven't heard of this event. Scott, where in this country have people not heard about this stuff? So change of venue motions will be denied probably ten times out of ten by the judges, so I expect all of the cases will be tried right here in D.C."
In at least some of the cases, filings by defendants suggest that people in their hometowns are indeed aware of the Capitol riot. One defendant who has already been sentenced, Dona Bissey of Indiana, told the judge that people have "shunned" her in her hometown — and her hair salon has seen a loss of business.
Watch below:
A growing number of Capitol riot defendants are formally requesting to move their cases out of DC and into their hometowns. Seeking hometown juries. Will it work? I spoke with former federal prosecutor \u2066@glennkirschner2\u2069 for my latest reporting ===>pic.twitter.com/R32lTthP36— Scott MacFarlane (@Scott MacFarlane) 1639615378
