A New York man accused of beating police officers during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol and who has been in jail since has asked for another delay shortly before his trial was finally set to take place.
Sullivan County native Jake Lang’s 13-count trial was scheduled to begin Nov. 12 in federal court in Washington, D.C., after being postponed four times since 2022 at his request. He was originally scheduled to stand trial in January 2023 — nearly 22 months ago — and has served longer in jail than any other Jan. 6 defendant with pending charges.
Three weeks before the trial was to begin, Lang’s attorney asked Judge Carl Nichols to postpone it again, indefinitely. He said in an Oct. 25 court filing that he and Lang needed more time to further review the “vast” evidence in the case — stacks of video recordings of Trump supporters clashing with the outnumbered police officers guarding the Capitol .
The attorney, Steven Metcalf, gave two other reasons for delaying the case. He wanted a doctor to verify Lang’s mental competency to stand trial, suggesting Lang’s mental state may be compromised by being held in solitary confinement. And he said some supporting witnesses may not be able to travel to Washington to testify during the week of Thanksgiving, which falls on Nov. 28.
“We do not want to unnecessarily extend this trial date, but the circumstances here are unique and require a short period of time to allow for a fair trial,” Metcalf wrote. “Lang’s future and freedom are at stake, and thus should outweigh other adverse concerns.”
Prosecutors countered the request with a detailed response, listing each of the delays already granted to Lang and refuting his claims that he was denied access to trial evidence while in prison.
“It is time to bring this case to trial,” concluded Karen Rochlin, the assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted the case.
No decision had been made as of Friday. Lang, a prison-based podcaster who has been praised in conservative media and labeled himself a “political prisoner,” posted on the court had announced. That could not be verified on Friday.
Jake Lang accused of beating police with a bat during the January 6 riots
Lang is accused of fighting with police for more than two hours outside the Capitol entrance, where the worst and most prolonged violence occurred that day. Prosecutors say video recordings show him hitting police with an aluminum baseball bat and a riot shield, punching and kicking them — and at one point even “crowd-surfing” over the pro-Trump crowd to continue fighting with agents.
He and his lawyers plan to argue that his actions were justified because he was defending himself and other protesters from police who wrongfully attacked them. Long has asked the judge to let him conduct his own defense in court, by making opening and closing statements in place of his lawyers, and by questioning witnesses.
Long interview: Three years after the January 6 riots, a New York man accused of beating officers is still awaiting trial in jail
Lang is a staunch supporter of Trump and hopes the former president will pardon him and other accused rioters if he is re-elected Tuesday, as he explained to the USA Today Network in a lengthy prison interview before the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot .
“America hears our voice, the patriots of January 6 are shouting from prison,” Lang said of the upcoming election in an X-post on October 26, accompanied by a video of him shadowboxing in his prison cell. “YOU CAN END THIS NIGHTMARE FOR US WITHIN 8 DAYS!!”
An earlier reason for the delays in Lang’s trial was a pending Supreme Court case challenging the Justice Department’s use of a specific charge — obstructing an official proceeding — against Lang and other suspects. That meant they disrupted the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory, as Congress had to halt those proceedings and flee as Trump supporters poured into the Capitol.
Prison protest: Fewer than 10 demonstrations at the Brooklyn jail for a New York man arrested on January 6 for assault
The Supreme Court ultimately threw out the validity of that charge in the riot cases, but that proved of little help to Lang’s case. Prosecutors dropped the obstruction charge against him, but replaced it with a new assault charge.
More than 1,500 people have now been charged with participating in the Capitol riot, and at least 571 people are charged with assaulting or obstructing police.
Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA Today Network. Reach him at cmckenna@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Capitol riot: New York man jailed since 2021 asks for another trial delay
