As President-elect Donald Trump’s second term looms on the horizon, a Harford County defendant elected Jan. 6 is expecting more favorable circumstances and trying to buy time.

Brandon Keith Heffner’s federal case over allegations he blocked police from leaving the U.S. Capitol building in early 2021 has been making its way through the court system for nearly a year. After Trump’s election victory earlier this week, Heffner’s lawyer, Andrés Jalon, asked a federal judge on Thursday to delay the case until Trump appoints a new U.S. attorney, who is almost certain to transform the Ministry of Justice.

Heffner is charged with obstructing law enforcement during civil disorder as well as misdemeanor offenses. He is charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly and disruptive conduct in any restricted building or grounds, and disorderly conduct in any Capitol building. according to a criminal complaint filed in Washington, DC

Trump is committed to pardoning the rioters during his second term, he said earlier this summer during a panel discussion hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists.

Heffner is not the only defendant to request a delay. Other lawyers representing the Jan. 6 defendants are making similar requests this week, according to the Washington Post.

The 38-year-old man is one of more than 30 Marylanders charged by the US Department of Justice to participate in the siege, according to a George Washington University Legal Monitoring. Most of the cases resulted in convictions or guilty pleas, although about a dozen, including Heffner’s, are still pending.

Before his arrest, Heffner was questioned by FBI agents in November 2021 in a public parking lot, during which he told them he was a former member of the Proud Boys, an all-male neo-fascist group. Heffner told investigators he was at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, but denied entering the building.

Heffner said his beard was too short to be the person dressed in black tactical gear, a helmet and a backpack who appeared alongside other rioters in video footage posted to the app. social media Speak. Federal authorities said Heffner and others could be seen in the footage blocking an exterior door on the lower west terrace of the U.S. Capitol and holding it closed, preventing police from coming out to deploy tear gas.

“Spread the word,” said another anonymous rioter in the melee in which Heffner allegedly participated. “They’re trying to come out and throw tear gas.”

A confidential informant later told FBI agents on March 15, 2022, that Heffner was a chapter leader of the Proud Boys in Maryland/District of Columbia. The informant identified Heffner as the person in the photographs.

Federal authorities also said they arrested Heffner earlier on December 12, 2020, in Washington, D.C., in connection with the assault of a police officer, during which he wore a black tactical vest, a black helmet and had a much larger beard. long. Supporters of then-President Trump, including members of the Proud Boys, clashed that day with counterprotesters in Washington.