Jan. 6 defendant violated travel restrictions by attending CPAC: prosecutors
One of the defendants facing charges for their involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol violated travel conditions when he attended the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), federal prosecutors are arguing.
According to CNN, court documents show a number of travel permission requests for Gabriel Garcia, of Florida, to travel to Washington, D.C., for Jan. 6 trial observations. However, prosecutors have pointed out one issue with his travel and attendance.
Instead of just attending the trial, he also traveled to Maryland for the recent CPAC on March 3.
Per the news outlet:
The court filing includes social media posts with photos of Garcia socializing at CPAC with other January 6 defendants. The defense said attending CPAC did not violate the defendant’s conditions, but the government said attending CPAC was not on his 'precise itinerary.'
“The government is surprised by defendant’s whereabouts on his recent trip,” prosecutors said.
Garcia, who previously ran for Florida's House of Representatives, currently has travel restrictions in place as part of his probation on charges connected to the Jan. 6 riots.
“The issue is not that defendant attended a political event. The real problem is that defendant has repeatedly [given cause] that his representations to the Court be doubted,” prosecutors said.
The latest development follows court filings that detailed Garcia's involvement in the Jan. 6 riots.
"On January 6, prosecutors allege that Garcia live-streamed video on Facebook and verbally showed aggression toward US Capitol Police officers," CNN reported. "He is facing six charges, including two felonies. He has pleaded not guilty."
