A man facing charges for storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 ignored advise from the judge on his case about representing himself and now he finds himself in deeper trouble.
Brandon Fellows, 27, was arrested on Jan. 17 in Albany N.Y and was granted pretrial release. However, he was taken into custody again after repeatedly violating the terms of his pretrial release.
According to WUSA, Fellows asked U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden to allow him to represent himself pro se in his case last month. Fellows told the judge he made that decision after spending two weeks in the law library of the D.C. jail. McFadden warned Fellows about the consequences of representing himself before granting his request.
Fellows appeared before the judge for his first full hearing as his own counsel on Tuesday to argue his bond status should be reconsidered. He was warned once again by the judge that he could potentially open himself up to perjury and obstruction of justice charges, according to WUSA.
“Most people do not do this,” McFadden told Fellows. “Obviously your attorney has discouraged this. I do not think this is a good idea… but I’m going to allow you to take the stand, if you wish.”
Fellows ignored the warning and set out to mount his own legal defense which consisted of complaints of his incarceration and other subjects ranging from the Taliban to a woman who left her child in a dumpster, WUSA reported.
Under a very short cross-examination Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Furst got Fellows to admit that he gained access to the Capitol building through a broken window without police permission, and that he tried to get a previous judge removed from the case using the judge’s wife’s contact information. He also admitted that he had missed court-ordered mental health and drug testing appointments.
At the end of the hearing McFadden ordered that Fellows return to custody.
“You’ve admitted to incredible lapses of judgment here on the stand, not least of which was seeking to disqualify a New York state judge,” McFadden said. “You’ve admitted to obstruction of justice in that case, and you’ve admitted to what was probably obstruction in this case in trying to have me disqualified, and only Ms. Halverson’s advice stopped you from doing so. You’ve engaged in a pattern of behaviors that shows contempt for the criminal justice system, and I just have no confidence that you will follow my orders if I release you.”
