Attorneys for the Chwiesiuk siblings have now filed a 14-page motion asking that their trial should not be held in Washington, D.C. because plentiful pretrial news coverage has poisoned the jury pool.
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They say the same goes for Chicago, citing reporting here, including from the I-Team. Our report from nearly six weeks ago is cited in a motion to relocate the trial that is set for two months from now.
According to a new motion filed by the Chwiesiuks, they can't get a fair trial in Washington because "residents of the District of Columbia are more tied to the federal government in that it is where the greatest number of federal employees live," a population subjected to saturation news coverage about the Capitol riot with participants acting as soldiers in a war against the government...people described as insurrectionists, extremists, zealots, and terrorists.
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The Chwiesiuk's motion states, "January 6 has been compared to the start of the Civil War as well as 9/11 and Pearl Harbor."
Even though indisputable video evidence places both the sidelined Chicago police officer and his sister at the scene of the violence, their motion for a new trial location states they were not part of the violence, and haven't been charged with crimes of violence.
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"The fact that a Chicago police officer has been charged in that attack on American democracy makes my blood boil," said Supt. David Brown in July 2021.
Statements such as that, along with extensive I-Team and other Chicago reporting, is prompting the Chwiesiuks to "request transfer to any venue other than the Northern District of Illinois."
READ MORE: CPD officer charged in Jan 6 attack looking at 'potential plea discussions,' court documents reveal
There is no word on when the D.C. judge will rule on that motion for a change of venue, or if there will be a full hearing. We do now know federal prosecutors have crossed the landmark line of at least one thousand people charged with January sixth crimes. Illinois is among nearly all fifty states with residents charged. Three dozen of them are here. More than half of those charged have pleaded guilty. The Chwiesiuks have turned down plea deals from U.S. prosecutors.