Capitol riot defendant ‘viciously’ beaten in D.C. jail, lawyer says
CBS NEWS
April 8, 2021
![]()
Capitol riot defendant ‘viciously’ beaten in D.C. jail, lawyer says | WTOP News
A Capitol riot defendant was “viciously and savagely” beaten by a guard in a Washington, D.C. jail and may lose sight in one eye because of his injuries.www.google.com
A Capitol riot defendant was “viciously and savagely” beaten by a guard in a Washington, D.C. jail and may lose sight in one eye because of his injuries, one of his lawyers told the CBS affiliate in the city, WUSA-TV. Ryan Samsel is accused of pushing over barriers and knocking down a police officer – causing her to suffer a concussion – during the January 6 riot.
Samsel is from Bristol, Pennsylvania, in Bucks County, CBS Philadelphia reports.
Samsel has been in federal custody since his arrest in January on charges of forcibly assaulting or interfering with a federal agent, obstructing an official proceeding and obstructing an officer.
This week, another Capitol riot defendant, Ronald Sandlin, told a federal judge during a bail hearing that Samsel was one of a number of defendants in the case who’d been subjected to violence by D.C. correctional officers.
In an interview with WUSA, Elisabeth Pasqualini said Samsel was “viciously and savagely” beaten by a corrections officer in the D.C. Correctional Treatment Facility after the guard zip-tied Samsel’s hands.
She said she was only alerted to the alleged attack when two attorneys representing other defendants contacted her and said her client had gotten “a beatdown” by a guard and was in the hospital.
“He has definitely suffered serious injuries, including a shattered orbital floor, a broken orbital bone, his jaw was broken, his nose was broken,” Pasqualini said, adding that Samsel is currently unable to see out of his right eye and may permanently lose vision in it.
Even before the alleged assault, Pasqualini said, her client was being held in lockdown for 23 hours a day and was having a hard time getting access to hygiene supplies and the shower. She said he’s since been moved to another jail, where he remains under lockdown.
A spokesperson for the FBI’s Washington Field Office told WUSA in an emailed statement that the agency was aware of the allegations but that “as a matter of policy we can neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation.”
WUSA9 also reached out to the D.C. Department of Corrections for comment, but hadn’t received a response as of Wednesday evening.
Samsel isn’t the first Capitol riot defendant to allege poor conditions during confinement, though his allegations are the most serious.
Last month, alleged Oath Keeper organizer Thomas Caldwell was released on bond in part because, his lawyer said, he’s been confined to a wheelchair as a result of not having access to orthopedic treatment while in custody.
Pasqualini said she doesn’t currently plan to file a motion asking for Samsel’s release because the state of Pennsylvania has a detainer on him due to his status as a parolee on January 6.
Records show Samsel is on parole for an assault conviction from 2016 in Pennsylvania and that there’s a separate warrant for his arrest related to an alleged 2019 assault in New Jersey.
![]()
“He has definitely suffered serious injuries, including a shattered orbital floor, a broken orbital bone, his jaw was broken, his nose was broken,” Pasqualini said, adding that Samsel is currently unable to see out of his right eye and may permanently lose vision in it.
Fuck YOU, Marshall. We want ALL you bitches to be held accountable. You CACs have been "just moving on" since the end of the Civil War.Republican senator calls for ‘spirit of forgiveness’ over Capitol riot and says it’s ‘time to move on’
Roger Marshall, who alleged ‘serious voter fraud’ before insurrection, says ‘it’s time for this country to heal’
Alex Woodward
New York
8 hours ago
![]()
Republican senator calls for ‘spirit of forgiveness’ over Capitol riot and says it’s ‘time to move on’
Roger Marshall, who alleged ‘serious voter fraud’ before insurrection, says ‘it’s time for this country to heal’www.google.com
Republican Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas says he is “just so ready to move on” after supporting GOP attempts to reject election results in an effort to install Donald Trump for a second term.
The senator was asked by CNN’s Pamela Brown on Saturday whether he believes his actions have contributed to the ongoing misinformation campaigns surrounding the election results, including an ongoing audit in Arizona hired by the state’s Republican party.
“Republicans continue to believe in the lie that this election, the last election was stolen,” she said. “You voted to toss out millions of votes in Arizona and Pennsylvania. You also joined the Texas lawsuit attempting to throw out votes cast in four states.”
“We’re just so ready to move on,” the senator said on Saturday. “It’s time for this country to heal. It’s time for a spirit of forgiveness to be happening.
On 2 January, Mr Marshall joined 10 other Republican senators – citing no evidence – who said that they would reject Electoral College results four days later on grounds of “multiple allegations of serious voter fraud.”
The Trump campaign, his administration, the Justice Department, FBI and bipartisan elections officials across the US have not presented any evidence of widespread election fraud. Mr Trump continues to spread the lie, echoed by his allies, that the election was “stolen” from him.
That conspiracy theory fulled a pro-Trump insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January as lawmakers convened to certify the results.
A recent CNN poll conducted by SSRS found that 30 per cent of respondents still do not believe Joe Biden is the legitimate winner of the election. Of those respondents, 69 per cent believe there is “solid evidence” that he did not win enough votes.
The poll found that only 23 per cent of Republicans believe Mr Biden legitimately received enough votes for the presidency, with 70 per cent believing he did not.
The poll was carried out 21-26 April with 777 cell phone respondents and 227 people by landline.
Mr Marshall was also asked how Republican values concerning states’ rights and federalism square against widespread GOP calls to toss out millions of ballots in several states. In his response, he claimed GOP-sponsored efforts to restrict voter access in nearly 47 states aims to make voting “harder to cheat”.
Republicans have defended their bills as attempts to increase “voter confidence” and to protect “election integrity” while they are also leading efforts to undermine their results based on no evidence.
“By us standing up to our concerns about those elections, about the election integrity, is forced those states with their problems to come to back to the table and have those legislatures to work together to make sure we have safer elections with higher integrity,” he told CNN.
![]()
Capitol Hill Police officer Brian Sicknick died due to natural causes
The medical examiner said Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick suffered from strokes and died due to natural causes.