Supporters of President Donald Trump riot on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (Yuri Gripas, Abaca Press/TNS)
TAMPA, Fla. (Tribune News Service) — A retired U.S. Army Special Forces soldier who’s amongst these accused within the Jan. 6, 2021, riots on the U.S. Capitol faces new fees that he held onto secret nationwide protection paperwork from his time within the service.
A federal grand jury in Tampa final week returned an indictment alleging that Jeremy Brown had unauthorized possession of the paperwork, which relate to army actions that occurred in 2004 and 2005.
The brand new fees accompany earlier allegations that Brown illegally possessed two weapons and a set of hand grenades, which federal brokers discovered after they executed a search warrant final yr at his Tampa dwelling.
The brand new indictment is the most recent salvo in an advanced case that has seen prosecutors work arduous to maintain Brown locked up and stop him from benefitting financially from public assist he has obtained.
Days after the brand new indictment got here a request from Brown’s protection: He needs to signify himself.
“He is not only competent however a very smart particular person,” protection legal professional William Sansone wrote in a courtroom paper filed Sunday.
Whereas he has no prior expertise with prison trials, Brown is studying as he goes, with help from two professional bono attorneys who will proceed to assist him, Sansone wrote.
“Mr. Brown has the constitutional proper to signify himself,” Sansone wrote, “and he’s adamant that at this juncture of his case, he’s the perfect particular person to steer his protection.”
Brown, 47, served within the Special Forces from 1992 to 2012. For many of that point, he held a “secret” safety clearance, which gave him lawful entry to nationwide protection info that was intently held by the federal government, the indictment states.
The indictment alleges that Brown “willfully retained the paperwork and did not ship them to the officer or worker of the USA entitled to obtain it.”
One doc is listed within the indictment as a “menace frequency report” of a “mixed explosives exploitation cell” in Afghanistan. One other is labeled as an incident report associated to an improvised explosive machine. A 3rd bears the title “Spider Gadget Testing Procedures and Outcomes.” The fourth is labeled as a “fragmentary order.”
All 4 paperwork are labeled as “secret,” a label that applies to info which, if disclosed, “may very well be anticipated to trigger critical harm” to nationwide safety, the indictment states.
The classification is a step above “confidential,” which applies to info that might merely “trigger harm” to nationwide safety. It’s a step beneath “high secret,” which applies to info that might “trigger exceptionally grave harm” to nationwide safety.
Brown is scheduled for an arraignment on the brand new fees later this week.
He was arrested final September on fees associated to the Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol, which disrupted congressional certification of the 2020 election outcomes.
Courtroom paperwork allege that Brown was seen donning fight apparel amid a crowd that breached a restricted space outdoors the constructing. Though he’s not accused of getting into the Capitol, federal prosecutors have famous ties to the Oath Keepers extremist group. Within the days previous Jan. 6, in line with courtroom data, Brown communicated with members of the group’s Florida chapter, a number of of whom have been charged individually with seditious conspiracy and different crimes.
A prison criticism references messages during which Brown coordinated journey plans, writing that he would deliver his leisure automobile, which he known as “Floor Drive One.”
A search warrant utility, which federal brokers used to authorize a search of Brown’s dwelling within the Palm River space, references info brokers obtained from an individual recognized as “Defendant 4,” who mentioned the group caravanned to Washington, D.C., in an RV that held weapons and ammunition.
Kelly Meggs, the purported chief of the Florida Oath Keepers, instructed Defendant 4 that Brown was a “free cannon” and had explosives contained in the RV, in line with the courtroom document. Of their search of Brown’s dwelling, brokers seized a short-barrel rifle, a sawed-off shotgun, and three hand grenades, which they alleged he possessed illegally.
A federal choose beforehand ordered Brown to stay detained pending trial, expressing concern over a profane handwritten signal he positioned outdoors his dwelling after an earlier go to from regulation enforcement. The signal acknowledged that in the event that they got here again, they need to “deliver an even bigger tactical bundle.”
Brown asserted in courtroom that the signal was not a menace and mentioned he detests violence. He has mentioned the prison fees are an effort by the federal government to silence him.
As he fights his case, Brown has filed to run as a candidate for Florida Home of Representatives within the 2022 election. He beforehand ran for congress in Tampa within the 2020 race, however withdrew earlier than the first.
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