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- A judge rejected a bid by an InfoWars host to dismiss the Capitol riot charges against him on Thursday.
- Owen Shroyer is charged with four misdemeanors for his alleged participation in the January 6 riot.
- According to charging documents, Shroyer called into an InfoWars show live from the attack.
A judge rejected a bid on Thursday by InfoWars host Owen Shroyer to dismiss the Capitol riot charges against him, rebuffing the right-wing conspiracist’s allegations that he was being prosecuted in the case because of his political views.
Shroyer, who hosts “The War Room with Owen Shroyer” on the far-right website InfoWars, faces four misdemeanor charges stemming from his alleged participation in the January 6 attack, including violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
In October, Shroyer’s lawyer, Norman Pattis, filed a motion to dismiss the charges against him, arguing that he was being prosecuted for his ideological beliefs and characterizing the charges against him as “vindictive prosecution.”
The attorney also claimed that, while seeking an arrest warrant for Shroyer from a judge, the Justice Department withheld video evidence that proves his client did not know he was on restricted grounds and shows Shroyer trying to deescalate the crowd.
Prosecutors say video evidence from January 6 shows Shroyer standing next to InfoWars founder Alex Jones and “Stop the Steal” rally planner Ali Alexander in an off-limits section of the Capitol grounds, according to charging documents. Neither Jones nor Ali have been charged in the insurrection.
According to court records, Shroyer also called into an InfoWars show in real time from the riot, saying the mob had “taken the Capitol” and saying “we literally own these streets right now.”
On Thursday, US District Judge Timothy Kelly rejected Shroyer’s attempts at dismissal, according to local news outlet WUSA, ruling that the government did not withhold any evidence. Rather, Kelly said the department provided videos that show Shroyer “marching over caution tape on the ground” while authorities nearby attempt to control the crowd by using tear gas.
Kelly also rejected Shroyer’s claim that he did not know he was on restricted grounds, citing a pretrial diversion agreement he previously signed that banned him from the US Capitol after he was arrested in 2019 for disrupting an impeachment hearing during former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial.
“There is no doubt in my mind that probable cause for an arrest existed here,” Kelly said, according to CNN.
Following Thursday’s ruling, prosecutors said plea negotiations in Shroyer’s case had not yet begun. Shroyer’s attorney said he would likely file a new motion to dismiss, this time citing First Amendment grounds, WUSA reported. Shroyer is next due back in court on March 8.
A lawyer for Shroyer did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
More than 750 people have been arrested in connection with the deadly attack, and 175 have pleaded guilty so far.
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