Robert Ciottoni of Willow Grove was arrested on March 8, 2024 in Philadelphia for illegally entering and disrupting the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, according to a Complaint and Statement of Facts case file found on the U.S. Attorney’s Office website.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, his attorney has asked federal judges to delay his trial, scheduled to begin later this month, due to Trump’s forthcoming inauguration.
“To proceed with this trial under the shadow of these political realities would not only risk rendering the process moot, but would also squander the limited resources of this [c]ourt and the Department of Justice,” Ciottoni’s attorney, Assistant Federal Defender Jonathan McDonald, wrote in court documents.
Judges denied the request, but because Ciottoni agreed to have his case heard by a judge, and not a jury, the first date of his trial was pushed to January 23. Trump’s inauguration is scheduled for January 20. The President-elect has promised to pardon many January 6 defendants immediately after swearing in.
Trials involving other local defendants are currently scheduled to occur through the spring and as late as July, The Inquirer said. You can read our previous coverage on Ciottoni’s arrest here.
For all the latest news, follow us on Facebook or sign up for Glenside Local’s “Daily Buzz” newsletter here.
Screengrabs taken from Robert Ciottoni’s Complaint and Statement of Facts via the U.S. Attorney’s Office website