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Feds Back Away from Claim of Assassination Plot at Capitol

Associated Press

   PHOENIX - Federal prosecutors who initially said there was "strong
   evidence" the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week
   aimed to "capture and assassinate elected officials" backed away from
   the allegation after the head of the investigation cautioned Friday
   that the probe was still in its early stages and there was no "direct
   evidence" of such intentions.

   The accusation came in a court filing by prosecutors late Thursday in
   Phoenix in the case against Jacob Chansley, the Arizona man who took
   part in the insurrection while sporting face paint, no shirt and a
   furry hat with horns.

   "Strong evidence, including Chansley's own words and actions at the
   Capitol, supports that the intent of the Capitol rioters was to capture
   and assassinate elected officials in the United States Government," a
   prosecutor wrote in a memo urging the judge to keep Chansley behind
   bars. But at a hearing for Chansley later in the day in Phoenix,
   another prosecutor, Todd Allison, struck the line from the memo.

   Allison said the statement may very well end up being appropriate at
   Chansley's trial but said prosecutors didn't want to mislead the court
   and don't have to rely on the stricken statement to argue that he
   should remain in jail. Ultimately, a judge on Friday ordered Chansley
   to remain in jail until his trial.

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