The federal judge who has been given the case regarding accusations related to the riot that occurred on January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol Building is receiving more protection.
Trump openly urged her to withdraw from the case because he thought she would be politically biased against him, prompting her to take this action.
CNN reported, without going into great detail, that Judge Tanya Chutkan of the United States District Court has been given increased security, and that on Monday, deputy U.S. Marshals also explored new security alternatives for Chutkan.
Federal court security is handled by the U.S. Marshals Service, which stated in a statement on Monday that it “take[s] that responsibility very seriously.”
“Ensuring that judges can rule independently and free from harm or intimidation is paramount to the rule of law, and a fundamental mission of the USMS,” Marshals Service representative Drew Wade said.
“While we do not discuss our specific security measures, we continuously review the measures in place and take appropriate steps to ensure the integrity of the federal judicial process,” Wade added.
Trump recently vented about getting indicted on his social media channels.
“Deranged Jack Smith is going before his number one draft pick, the Judge of his ‘dreams’ (WHO MUST BE RECUSED!), in an attempt to take away my FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS — This, despite the fact that he, the DOJ, and his many Thug prosecutors, are illegally leaking, everything and anything, to the Fake News Media!!!” On his Truth Social platform, Trump shouted.
Trump published an all-caps statement on Sunday that read: “THERE IS NO WAY I CAN GET A FAIR TRIAL WITH THE JUDGE “ASSIGNED” TO THE RIDICULOUS FREEDOM OF SPEECH/FAIR ELECTIONS CASE. EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS, AND SO DOES SHE! WE WILL BE IMMEDIATELY ASKING FOR RECUSAL OF THIS JUDGE ON VERY POWERFUL GROUNDS, AND LIKEWISE FOR VENUE CHANGE, OUT IF [OF] D.C.”
According to The Hill, one of Trump’s attorneys, John Lauro, addressed the subject of requesting a change judge and stated that Trump’s team has “made no final decision on that issue.”
“It has to be really looked at with a fine-toothed comb. It raises a lot of issues,” he said.
Smith’s team asked Chutkan’s court for a protection order late last week out of concern that the former president would reveal the information on social media or at a campaign rally. They wanted to keep Trump and his staff from seeing some of the material.
Trump’s team has until Monday to react to the government’s motion, Chutkan said on Friday. Additionally, she denied Trump’s plea to push out the filing date until later in the week on Saturday.
In a late Saturday report, CNN noted that the government’s “request pointed to a post by Trump on Truth Social from earlier in the day to argue that the former president has a habit of speaking publicly about the details of the various legal proceedings he’s facing.”
The report added:
After Chutkan on Saturday ordered Trump’s legal team to state its position on the motion by 5 p.m. ET Monday, lawyers for Trump requested more time to weigh in on what restrictions should be imposed. Trump’s lawyers asked to have until Thursday to respond, and suggested a hearing on the matter might be necessary if an agreement with prosecutors isn’t reached.
Smith’s team, however, urged Chutkan to stick to her original Monday deadline, arguing in a Saturday afternoon filing that the request from Trump’s legal team amounted to an “unnecessary delay.”
Smith’s team stated that it was prepared to produce discovery in the matter as soon as possible, which is an essential first step in starting the case. The prosecutor’s office claimed in a document that the defendant “is standing in the way.”
