Federal prosecutors revealed the new legal position this week in court papers seeking to drop gun charges against two former Jan. 6 defendants. The guns in question were found at the two men’s homes during the Jan. 6 investigation, but the alleged gun crimes themselves were not connected to the riot.
The two men whose charges are being dropped — Daniel Ball and Elias Costianes — both had been awaiting trial on Jan. 6-related charges when Trump took office. Ball faced charges of assault, while Costianes had misdemeanor charges pending. Those cases quickly disappeared as a result of Trump’s clemency. But in separate proceedings, they also had both been accused of illegally possessing weapons that law enforcement officers discovered in Jan. 6-related searches.
A third former Jan. 6 defendant, Dan Wilson, also faced firearms charges unrelated to Jan. 6, and two weeks ago, the Justice Department
rejected his claim that Trump’s clemency covered those charges. But on Thursday, his attorney urged a court to delay the start of his prison sentence, saying
the Justice Department had agreed to “take another look” at his case.