A teen, believed to be the youngest suspect arrested in connection with the U.S. Capitol riots, has been punched by a fellow inmate and tested positive for Covid-19, defense lawyers said Monday.
Bruno Joseph Cua, 18, is asking to be released from the the Grady County Jail in Oklahoma where he’s largely been in solitary confinement since being arrested on Feb. 5, defense lawyer William Zapf said in court papers seeking his client’s pre-trial release.
“Mr. Cua was assaulted and then threatened by a fellow inmate over this past weekend,” Zapf wrote. “We understand that the inmate struck Mr. Cua in the face with his open hand, injuring his nose, over the use of the phone, and then threatened him regarding the incident.”
And on Saturday, a Covid-19 test for Cua came back positive, Zapf said, and his lawyers argued that he’s ready to safely self-quarantine, perhaps at a hotel, if released.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Paschall argued that Cua “poses a significant danger to the community” and that his social media postings “show clearly the radicalized mind of a young man fixated on stopping the normal functional of democracy.”
The “nature and seriousness of the the danger to any person or the community strongly favors detention in this matter,” Paschall responded.
The prosecutor didn’t address the alleged assault of Cua, who is from Milton, Georgia, while in custody. But she did cite the multiple photos taken of him during the Jan. 6 uprising at the U.S. Capitol, all appearing to show the suspect without a mask.
Prosecutors have “grave concerns about the defendant’s willingness to take precautions against the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic,” according to Paschall.
Supporters of then-President Donald Trump descended on Washington and stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, in hopes of stopping Congress from formally accepting now-President Joe Biden’s victory.
At least five people died amid the riots, including one police officer who was injured during clashes with rioters. Two officers who were there that day have since died from suicide.
Cua had posted on his Parler account that he had planned to go to the nation’s capital on Jan. 6 because “President Trump is calling us to FIGHT!,” saying, “This isn’t a joke, this is where and when we make our stand. #January6th, Washington DC,” according to a criminal complaint.
Cua faces multiple charges stemming from the Jan. 6 riot, including assault on a federal officer, disorderly conduct and entering a restricted building.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
