Following the deadly violence that was the Capitol insurrection last January 6, law enforcement officials are already rounding up a good number of people that were identified to be involved. As Donald Trump faces a Senate trial for his incitement of the riots, a Proud Boys member was sentenced to remain detained without bond.
US Magistrate Judge Robin Meriweather sentenced Dominic Pezzola, a member of the white nationalist group Proud Boys, and was among those who infiltrated the Capitol, to remain detained without bond. The verdict was made after a half-hour long hearing where both the prosecutor and Pezzola’s defense attorney argued whether or not Pezzola should remain behind bars. Meriweather described her decision to detain Pezzola as a “close call” due to his lack of criminal record before his involvement in the Capitol siege. However, the judge expressed concerns that Pezzola may make another attempt if released.
As his defense, Pezzola pinned the blame on Trump, saying that he was scammed by the now-former president’s “deception” as well as “acting out of delusional belief” that he was following orders from the commander-in-chief. Pezzola was arrested a week after the riots.
This trial coincides with the impeachment trials at the Senate, where the Democratic House Impeachment Managers presented footage before the jurors of Pezzola breaking a window during the early stages of the insurrection. Stacey Plaskett even checked Pezzola’s name and named the aspects of the case against him, adding that Pezzola was wearing an earpiece and was among the first to break inside.
Contrary to the previous impeachment trial that Trump faced, this time he remains silent on social media. After getting his account permanently banned by Twitter, the company’s CFO Ned Segal stated that the ban will remain even if he is acquitted and chooses to run for office again.
Twitter permanently banned Trump following the riots at the Capitol, and prior to the permanent ban, the account was suspended for several hours for inciting violence. Prior to getting suspended, since Trump’s loss to Joe Biden, the platform has constantly flagged the former president’s posts spreading his baseless claims of election fraud.