WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above originally aired Dec. 10, 2021.
A federal judge on Tuesday denied a request by a Maine man charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol to change the venue of his trial from Washington D.C. to Maine.
Kyle Fitzsimons has pleaded not guilty to 10 felony counts, including entering a restricted building, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, assault on a federal officer, and certain acts during a civil disorder. He has been in jail since his February arrest.
Fitzsimons' lawyer argued Tuesday that Fitzsimons' support for former President Donald Trump would affect the jury's ability to stay impartial because the district voted heavily against Trump in the 2020 presidential race.
Fitzsimons' lawyer also argued the unprecedented closure of Washington D.C. and the military takeover of the city by the National Guard materialized into an incurable community prejudice against the Capitol incident defendants in D.C. compared to Maine.
U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras sided with prosecutors, saying the assumption by Fitzsimons' lawyers that he will get an unfair trial is premature when the jury hasn't yet been selected.
Prosecutors argued that Fitzsimons provides no reason to believe that, by the time his trial begins, D.C. jurors are likely to be able to remember and distinguish the reporting about him from that involving the many hundreds of other people charged as part of the Capitol attack.
Last Monday, Contreras granted the press access to video and audio footage of Fitzsimons' conduct during and after the riot that prosecutors used as evidence to argue Fitzsimons should not be released pending trial.
Among the evidence released is video from a body camera worn by Metropolitan police officers, surveillance video from the Capitol building, audio and video recordings of a Jan. 7 Lebanon Board of Selectman's meeting that Fitzsimons called in to and described his actions at the riot; audio of two recorded jail calls; and an audio recording of a voicemail message left at the office of Congressman Jared Golden, D-Maine.
Video clips from under the Capitol building archway appear to show Fitzsimons, among a large crowd of other rioters, grabbing at officers right up against the archway.
Bodycam footage appears to show Fitzsimons struggling to gain access with other rioters as they're sprayed by officers.
The voicemail left for Golden states, "Mr. Jared Golden, or a staffer listening, I am a constituent of Maine. My name is Kyle Fitzsimons. I am asking for your courage, sir, courage to dispute what we all know is a garbage election. Will you have the courage to object on the 6th? Because I certainly have the courage to object to my entire life going forward if this is done to me. My name is Kyle Fitzsimons, and I'll be in D.C. on the 6th."
NEWS CENTER Maine contacted Golden on Thursday about the audio clip. His office said he had no comment.
Fitzsimons' trial is scheduled to begin April 4, 2022.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The video below originally aired Dec. 10, 2021.
For the latest breaking news, weather, and traffic alerts, download the NEWS CENTER Maine mobile app