Stay in Metro Detroit, federal judge tells Capitol riot defendant who wants to visit Jamaica

January 07, 2022, 2:49 PM

Anthony Williams of Southgate is grounded in Michigan, a federal judge reaffirms, while awaiting trial on five charges stemming from the Capitol takeover.

Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., took just hours to reject his request for a travel restriction break. In a motion filed on Thursday's anniversary of the violent insurrection, The Washington Post reports, the Metro Detroiter sought permission to visit Negril, Jamaica, with his girlfriend and her family from Jan. 31 to Feb. 10.


Evidence against Anthony Williams includes this selfie next to a Dwight Eisenhower bronze statue in the U.S. Capitol. (Photo: U.S. Attorney's Office)

Howell said she gets why Williams, who's barred from leaving the country as a pretrial release condition, wants to escape "the Michigan winter to spend ten days in the warmer climes of Jamaica." But the answer is no. 

"This court will not commemorate the one-year anniversary of this attack on the Capitol by granting defendant’s request for non-essential foreign travel when he is awaiting judgment for his actions on that day," Howell wrote.

Those actions, according to the FBI, include illegally entering the Capitol. In one video shot while inside the building, Williams talked about how he and others “stormed” the Capitol and “pushed back the cops,” FBI agent Matthew Hughes said in a sworn affidavit.

Williams is indicted on five charges, including violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and has pleaded not guilty.

The judge used one of Williams's alleged comments on social media when denying the travel request, noting: "Defendant surrendered his entitlement to unfettered international travel when … he allegedly announced his intent to 'Storm the Swamp.'"


Read more:  The Washington Post


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