KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After spending nearly a year in jail awaiting trial on Capitol riot conspiracy charges, Olathe Proud Boy William Chrestman will have to wait even longer.
A federal judge on Wednesday — the eve of the first anniversary of the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection — approved the government's request for a two-month continuance in the case that involves Chrestman, three other Kansas City-area Proud Boys and two Arizona siblings. The six were indicted last February for allegedly conspiring to breach the Capitol.
At a status hearing held via video conference in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, prosecutor Christopher Veatch said the continuance was needed because the government is still turning over discovery to the defense. Veatch also said that some defendants had recently retained new attorneys who were getting up to speed on the cases and that prosecutors were assisting them in receiving discovery from prior counsel.
None of the defendants' attorneys objected to scheduling the next hearing for March 2.
"I think we're all in the same boat in the sense that the discovery seems to continue to filter in," Chrestman's attorney, Michael Cronkright, told U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly. "Unfortunately, that puts me in a position where it would be difficult to object to a delay, but it seems like most of these cases are delayed extraordinarily."
Kelly noted that in addition to the discovery concerns, there had been "a flurry of decisions" issued at the end of the year by several judges handling Capitol riot cases, including himself. The decisions, Kelly said, could impact some defendants' decisions on how to proceed with their defense.
Those charged in the Proud Boys conspiracy case along with Chrestman were Christopher Kuehne of Olathe, Louis Enrique Colon of Blue Springs, Ryan Keith Ashlock of Gardner and Cory and Felicia Konold.
Prosecutors allege that Chrestman was a key player in the Capitol invasion. The unemployed union sheet metal worker also was charged with threatening to assault a federal law enforcement officer and carrying a wooden ax handle while in the Capitol building and on the grounds. The others were released on personal recognizance bonds, but Chrestman has been in custody since his arrest on Feb. 11.
The six also were named last month in a federal lawsuit filed by D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine that accuses Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, their leaders and members of "conspiring to terrorize the District by planning, promoting, and participating in the violent January 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol Building."
The lawsuit, which seeks to recover the costs of the insurrection, says that over several weeks, the groups worked together "to plot, publicize, recruit for, and finance their planned attack." The result of that planning, the lawsuit alleges, was "a coordinated act of domestic terrorism."
The Proud Boys have been at the forefront of the federal investigation into the insurrection. Authorities have arrested more than three dozen members or associates of the far-right extremist group from around the country, including several in leadership positions, on charges ranging from disorderly conduct to conspiracy to assaulting a federal officer.
Prosecutors have now charged more than 700 people in connection with the riot. So far, about a fourth of the defendants have pleaded guilty, the majority to misdemeanors, and about 70 have been sentenced.
While most defendants have been released pending trial, some, including Chrestman, are being held without bond. In July, Kelly denied Chrestman's request to be released pending trial, upholding a previous judge's ruling that he was a danger to the community.
"Mr. Chrestman was much more — much, much more — than someone who merely cheered on the violence or who entered the Capitol after others cleared the way," Kelly said.
In November, Chrestman replaced his defense attorney with Ed Martin, a former Missouri GOP chairman who was subpoenaed last month by the House committee investigating the Capitol riot. Martin was head of the Missouri Republican Party between 2013 and 2015.
According to court records, Chrestman wanted to replace his previous attorney with Cronkright, a Michigan attorney. But because Cronkright doesn't practice law in Washington, D.C., Martin, a member of the DC bar, stepped in as Cronkright's sponsoring attorney. Both are now listed as Chrestman's lead attorneys. Martin did not appear at Wednesday's hearing.
Martin and Cronkright also signed on in November to represent Capitol riot defendant Joseph Padilla, of Tennessee, who was indicted on 12 counts that include obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder; assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon; and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Martin was among six people subpoenaed last month who the House panel says were involved in organizing and planning rallies to overturn Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election. The committee says Martin was a leader of the "Stop the Steal" movement.
The Konold siblings also have recently replaced their attorney, Albert Watkins, of St. Louis. The outspoken attorney has been involved in a number of high-profile cases. Recent clients have included Jacob Chansley, also known as the "QAnon Shaman," who was sentenced in November to 41 months for his role in the Capitol riot.
The Konolds' new attorney, Nicholas D. Smith, also represents Ethan Nordean, a Proud Boy leader from Washington state who federal prosecutors say helped plan the group's Jan. 6 tactical strategy.
