An accused January 6 rioter from East Texas is demanding that the court disallow any mention of "imaginary police deaths" at trial, reported The Daily Beast on Wednesday.
"Ryan Nichols, 32, was arrested on Jan. 18, 2021, and has been indicted on 12 counts, including tampering with a witness and civil disorder," reported Alec Karam. "'To be clear, no police officer died on Jan. 6,' court documents filed by Nichols said. 'Any statement to the contrary is a blatant and reckless lie.'"
Nichols, a Marine veteran accused of using a chemical spray on Capitol Police officers, went on to claim that police were "out of control," and that the idea the people at the Capitol attacked them first is a "false narrative" — despite other defendants having been convicted of assaulting law enforcement.
No Capitol Police officers were killed at the immediate scene of the attack. However, Officer Brian Sicknick died the following day, of natural causes that the medical examiner said were exacerbated by the attack, and four other officers who defended the Capitol died by suicide shortly after. 114 officers were injured, many of whom were beaten, attacked with stun guns, or in one case, crushed in a door frame by the oncoming mob.
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Nichols previously tried to get his case moved to Texas, arguing he will not be able to get an unbiased trial in Washington, D.C. and even claiming that President Joe Biden's speech on protecting democracy was prejudicial to his case.
He is also seeking the ability to search through the enormous trove of security footage released from the Capitol by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to far-right Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
