Local man rejects plea deal in Capitol riot

Guy Lucas, The High Point Enterprise, N.C.
·1 min read
104

Oct. 28—A Trinity man is determined to go to trial on charges he faces in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Bradley Stuart Bennett, 42, confirmed Friday in a hearing in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that he will not accept the plea deal he was offered by federal prosecutors.

Bennett said little else during Friday's brief hearing other than explaining that if he was hoarse it's because he has been ill recently.

Bennett, who is acting as his own lawyer, is facing one felony and several misdemeanors. He is accused of entering the Capitol but is not accused of helping break in or attacking police, and prosecutors previously said Bennett was offered the same deal that his former girlfriend, Elizabeth Rose Williams, 32, of Kerrville, Texas, accepted in early February.

Williams pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor. She has not yet been sentenced, but others who have been convicted only of a misdemeanor in connection to Jan. 6 have been sentenced to probation.

Jury selection for Bennett's trial currently is set to begin Feb. 21. Judge James Boasberg previously said the trial, including jury selection, probably would take three days.