Some January 6 Defendants Arrested Again for Other Crimes - Reports

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - A number of defendants involved in the events at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, have been arrested for other crimes, CBS News reported on its review of such defendants.

The media outlet said on Friday that it reviewed US Justice Department court filings, which showed a "growing number" of defendants being arrested again for subsequent crimes involving guns, drugs and domestic abuse.

The new charges complicate their ability to secure lenient sentences in the cases related to the events at the US Capitol but also potentially jeopardize attempts by other defendants to secure pretrial releases in their cases, the report said.

The review focused on the cases of three men: US Navy reservist Hatchet Speed, Kene Lazo and Elias Costianes, the report said.

Speed pleaded not guilty to four federal charges for his participation in the events at the US Capitol, but was indicted on additional charges for possessing illegal firearms silencers and for buying weapons after January 6. Speed is alleged to have made statements that glorified violence, expressed admiration for convicted domestic terrorists and justified the use of violence to further his anti-government beliefs, the report said.

Lazo, who was arrested in May 2021 for his participation in the January 6 events, was arrested again three months later and convicted on domestic violence charges in Norfolk, Virginia, the report said.

Costaine was arrested again after investigators searched his basement and found that two of the four firearms were not his. Investigators also found in his home a hypodermic needle and four vials filled with testosterone enanthate, which is a controlled substance under US federal law, the report added.

The US authorities have charged some 870 people with crimes in relation to the US Capitol attack. Several dozen of them are being held in pre-trial detention, according to the report.