TEMPLE, Texas — The attorney for a Bruceville-Eddy man who was involved in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol last year filed a motion last week requesting to dismiss some charges.
Per court documents, Christopher Grider, now 40, is facing three felony charges and six misdemeanors for his alleged role in the riot.
On June 1, federal prosecutors added three new charges to Grider's original six charges, which then increased his maximum sentence of 39 and a half years if he's convicted.
Brent Mayr, Grider's attorney, said his client isn't guilty of all the charges and that the government is "trying to file as many charges as possible against Grider, according to the Waco Tribune.
On June 22, Mayr filed a motion to have a judge dismiss five of the charges against Grider:
- Count One of Civil Disorder
- Count Two of Obstruction of an Official Proceeding
- Count Four, Five and Six of Restricted Building or Grounds
According to the motion, the indictment:
- Count One does not identify a "'federally protected function' whose performance was affected by the "civil disorder" on Jan. 6;
- Count Two is "too constitutionally overboard" and that "the novel construction principle of the Due Process Clause requires rejection of the Government's interpretation;"
- Count Four to Six are "unconstitutionally vague" and the "rule of lenity to its interpretation" should apply.
Grider was offered a plea deal, but rejected it. He claims he went to Washington on Jan. 6 with no intention of rioting, but he said he got caught up in the mob of angry supporters of then-President Trump.
Grider was offered a plea deal, but he rejected it. He said he went to Washington on Jan. 6 with no intention of rioting, but said he got caught up in the mob of angry supporters of then-President Donald Trump as they surged into the U.S. Capitol, breaking through police barriers and smashing through doors.
It wasn't his fault, he said, that he ended up inside the building with a yellow "Don't Tread on Me" flag around his neck as lawmakers were put on lockdown.
Grider is one of the owners of Kissing Tree Vineyards at 109 W. 3rd St. in Eddy.