The case of a Conway man accused of using a flagpole to beat a police officer outside the U.S. Capitol has been continued until Feb. 7.
Peter Francis Stager, 42, was arrested in Conway the day after the Jan. 6 Capitol breach. He has remained in the District of Columbia jail since shortly after his arrest in Arkansas.
During a teleconference hearing Monday in federal court in the District of Columbia, Stager's attorney, David Benowitz, objected to the time being "tolled" from the speedy trial clock, meaning the time from Nov. 22 to Feb. 7 days would be excluded.
Under 18 U.S.C. § 3161(c)(1), trial must commence within 70 days from the date the information or indictment was filed, or from the date the defendant appears before an officer of the court in which the charge is pending, whichever is later.
But a judge can exclude time from that speedy trial clock for various reasons. Time exclusions have already been made in this case, pushing it out more than a year since the Capitol riot on Jan. 6.
Stager made a similar objection at his last status hearing on Sept. 23. At that hearing, Benowitz said his client has been in jail for "quite some time" and wants to go to trial.
John Kiyonaga, the attorney for Jack Wade Whitton, another defendant in the case, also objected on Monday to the tolling of time from the speedy trial clock.
Seven men are charged in the same case: 21-cr-35 in the District of Columbia federal court.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Benet Kearney asked U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan for the continuance, saying the government still has a considerable amount of discovery materials to process, including videos, police radio transmissions and interviews.
On Monday, Sullivan said a "legitimate basis exists" to toll the time from speedy-trial calculations. He said the case is "extremely complex and involves more discovery than this court has seen in 37 years of being a judge."
Kearney had asked for a 60-day continuance, but the Feb. 7 date is a few days beyond that to accommodate the schedules of attorneys involved in the case.
Benowitz also raised an issue before the court on Monday, saying laptops or other electronic devices are being given to defendants so they can view discovery information.
"But that when there's an attempt to bring that laptop to meet with an attorney, the policy is that it will be confiscated," he told the federal court.
The policy interferes with the ability of Benowitz and his partners to represent Stager, he argued.
"That's ridiculous," Sullilvan said of the situation. "I don't understand what the rationale is for retrieving a laptop that's been given to someone to enable that person to review discovery but when he meets with his attorney it's taken from him."
Sullivan said Benowitz should speak with Emily A. Miller, an assistant U.S. attorney and the Capitol Breach Discovery Coordinator, and resolve the problem that way.
"If for some reason there's still an issue, file something brief and I'll deal with it," said Sullivan.
Stager is being detained at the Correctional Treatment Facility in Washington, D.C.
Stager is charged with:
• 18 U.S.C. 111(a)(1) and (b); assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon.
• 18 U.S.C. 1512(c)(2) and 2; obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting.
• 18 U.S.C. 231(a)(3); civil disorder.
• 18 U.S.C. 1752(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A); entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
• 18 U.S.C. 1752(a)(2) and (b)(1)(A); disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
• 18 U.S.C. 1752(a)(4) and (b)(1)(A); engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
• 40 U.S.C. 5104(e)(2)(F); violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.
Two other Arkansans -- Richard "Bigo" Barnett of Gravette and Jon Thomas Mott of Yellville -- are also charged in the Capitol riot.
Barnett is charged with carrying a dangerous weapon -- a stun gun -- into the Capitol and into the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, where he posed for photos with his foot on a desk. Barnett was released from jail in April pending trial.
Mott, who has remained free pending trial, is charged with four misdemeanors over his presence in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
A status teleconference is scheduled for Barnett today. Mott's next court hearing is set for Jan. 21.
All three have pleaded innocent. No trial date has been scheduled in any of the three cases.