PORTLAND, Maine — The trial of a Maine man accused of being involved in the Capitol riot in 2021 is expected to begin soon.
Kyle Fitzsimons, 38, of Lebanon was the first Maine resident to be charged in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Fitzsimons' case will be heard by U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras, by his own request, and not a juried trial later this month.
In the meantime, the government is reportedly looking to recoup some of the cost of his public defender.
Through an online fundraising site, Fitzsimons reportedly raised money that has been used for truck payments and other personal expenses. The page has since been shut down. But as of June 1, about $20,000 was available. The government argues that not paying for his own attorney amounts to taxpayers subsidizing his vehicle and other personal expenses.
Officials are also looking for a separate possible fundraising site reportedly set up for him by his mothers as well as any other sites established with the intent to help support him financially.
Fitzsimons was arrested at his home in Maine on Feb. 4, 2021, on four initial federal charges:
- Knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority.
- Violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
- Assault on a federal officer.
- Certain acts during civil disorder.
The number of charges filed that Fitzsimons will face in court later this month has increased to a total of 11.
A criminal complaint filed by the FBI suggests Fitzsimons pushed and grabbed at police officers who were holding a police line in an arched entryway on the lower west terrace of the Capitol building. Then Fitzsimons is allegedly struck by an officer's baton, which he later recounts in an interview with the Rochester Voice. Court documents continue to suggest that he gets back up after being hit, moves toward the middle of the archway, then lowers his shoulder before charging at the line of officers.
The incident is reportedly caught on several sources via surveillance video and body cameras.
Fitzsimons has been held without bail since his arrest in 2021.
His trial is scheduled to begin on Aug. 16.
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