Attorney claims DOJ ‘neglect’ should lead to dismissal of Versailles man’s Jan. 6 case
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KMIZ) -
An attorney representing a Lake of the Ozarks-area man wants a federal judge to dismiss a Jan. 6-related case based on a lack of action from the prosecutor.
The attorney for Matthew Loganbill said federal prosecutors have not tried the Versailles man in enough time under the Speedy Trial Act. Attorney Elizabeth Mullin said 70 days have passed since a judge decided on their last pre-trial motions, the length of time the federal law says cases must be tried.
Loganbill was indicted in September 2021 on five counts related to his conduct at the Capitol on Jan. 6 of that year. Prosecutors claim Loganbill talked about being inside the Capitol with protestors on the day Congress certified the 2020 presidential election results.
Loganbill allegedly put pictures of the riot on Facebook and posted that he told an officer there "we came peacefully this time, it will be different if we have to come again, he said I know I'm on your side, I shook his hand and we left."
Mullin said that for more than a year following the indictment, Loganbill's attorneys worked with prosecutors on a possible plea deal. A "trace investigation" by prosecutors of Loganbill's movements during that time found "no evidence" Loganbill "engaged in any violence," according to Mullin's motion.
While prosecutors were allegedly still unwilling to offer a plea agreement for the trespassing charges, Mullin filed several motions to dismiss the case on other grounds. A federal judge denied the last of those motions on May 1.
Since then, docket entries show no motions filed. A judge set a status hearing for Loganbill's case on July 14. Mullin said the Department of Justice had neglected Loganbill's case, who has been on pre-trial release since his arrest.
"As for the circumstances leading up to this point, this case seems to have slipped through the cracks, underscoring that Mr. Loganbill’s alleged offenses are not so serious that the Department of Justice identified a pressing need to prosecute him," Mullin wrote. "To the contrary, the docket shows that the government has done little to advance this case to trial and instead dangled the possibility of a favorable resolution for two years."
A media contact for the DOJ said it would comment on the case through court filings.
Loganbill is one of two people from Mid-Missouri to face charges for their actions on Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol. Centralia man Jerod Bargar pleaded guilty last month to bringing a gun on Capitol grounds.
