A Maga Trump hooligan threw Trump under the bus
claiming he "authorized" the attack on the Capitol.
Dustin Thompson
- an Ohio man assigned to his role in the January 6 Capitol attack
- argues in court that former President Donald Trump "approved" of
- the rebellion, according to NBC News.
"Dustin Thompson, 38, of Ohio
is the third defendant on 6 January to face a jury trial following the conviction of Jay Rivett and former police officer Thomas Robertson," Ryan Riley reported.
Thompson faces six charges
including obstruction of official proceedings and theft of government property. The other defendant, Robert Leon, pleaded guilty last month, admitting that he and Thompson had travelled to Washington together, stole a coat shelf, and fled the police when they were confronted at the Capitol. "
Samuel Shamanski
Thompson's lawyer, told jurors on Tuesday that his client
"foolishly grabbed the coat shelf", and that "there is no doubt that his client participated in the" terrible "event on 6 January that interrupted a" solemn
and sacred action ", the report continued. But Shamanski argued that
the "genesis"
- of the attack began months before January 6th
- and was the responsibility of Trump
- who "authorized this attack" on the Capitol.
Thompson confirmed
for several months that Trump pressured him to enter the Capitol, and at one point sought the court to appoint a U.S. marshal to help him call Trump, as well as associates Rudy Giuliani and Steve Bannon to testify.
Several defendants in
the 6 January case tried to blame the former President for their actions. Before the incident, Trump claimed that the 2020 election was rigged and urged his fans to "fight like hell" for him at a rally in D.C.
During the incident
he expressed sympathy for the attackers and waited hours before publicly telling them to leave - all of which contributed to the former president's second trial.
While many judges determined that Trump was responsible for the attack, this did not exempt most hooligans from prison.
Thompson
a 38-year-old Ohio exterminator
was charged with six counts, including obstruction of official action, theft of government property, unlawful entry to the Capitol, unlawful demonstration at the Capitol, and two counts of disorderly conduct at the Capitol.
The trial marked the first time that a person accused of
involvement on January 6, 2021
- in the Capitol riots tried to convince the jury that
- Trump was responsible. Thompson's lawyer told the jury that
- Trump was an "evil and frightening man" who instigated the disturbance
with his incendiary Ellipse speech :
encouraging his followers to walk to the Capitol and "fight like hell."
Thompson stated that
he thought he was acting on Trump's orders.
"I got stuck at the moment."
- "If the President was giving you
- almost something to do
- I felt compelled to do it," Thompson said.
Prosecutors ridiculed this idea
claiming Thompson was an adult capable of making his own decisions and informing the jury that it was not Trump who was on trial.
"This is not a criminal trial of President Trump," Attorney General William Dreher said Thursday. "This sideshow about the defense attorney trying to get you angry with Trump is just a sideshow."