A Proud Boys organizer charged in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot is being threatened in jail by fellow inmates according to his lawyer.
Prosecutors say Joseph Biggs, 37 was one of the first people to enter the Capitol building through a door that was opened by a small group that got in by breaking a window with a police body shield.
He has been charged with obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding; knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority; and willfully and knowingly engaging in disorderly conduct to impede a session of Congress.
Biggs has been held in a subsection of the Seminole County Jail with about 150 other inmates since he turned himself in to U.S. Marshals on April 22.
At a hearing on Thursday, his attorney J. Daniel Hull said word has gotten out about Biggs and now he is being threatened by fellow inmates and also dealing with an old injury.
“I do worry about somebody wanting to test Joe Biggs’ mettle. I think that’s going to be coming up more and more,” Hull said according to The Daytona Beach News-Journal .
The threats subsided when Biggs was moved to another section of the jail in May but Hull is worried that it will get worse as more inmates enter the jail.
“This was something that we were very concerned about,” he said. “There have been threats to him either because of his association with the Proud Boys or because of his politics. Or just the way he tends to keep to himself and tries to stay out of trouble.”
Biggs is also suffering from an old knee injury for which he received surgery last year, Hull said. He woke up one morning in jail with his knee “swollen and in great pain.” Biggs was told he needed a prosthetic device in his knee replaced.
Federal Judge Timothy J. Kelly and prosecutors said they will work with Hull to come up with a solution for the health and safety issues surrounding Biggs.
