A federal judge has dismissed a charge against a former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent who was still working for the administration when he went onto U.S. Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, on Oct. 27 tossed a charge of lying to the government for Mark Ibrahim, a former DEA agent.
The charge stated that Ibrahim “did willfully and knowingly make materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements and representations in a criminal matter in the District of Columbia” by telling a government agent that he didn’t knowingly expose his firearm and DEA badge while on Capitol grounds.
He said he had his badge and firearm on his person on Jan. 6, 2021, but they were “never exposed,” saying “not that I know of,” according to a partial transcript of the interview released by Ibrahim’s lawyer.
Ibrahim was in California speaking on March 15, 2021, to a federal investigator who was in Virginia.
In the motion to dismiss, his counsel, Marina Medvin, noted that neither party was in Washington but the charge was filed there. Medvin said that “the District of Columbia is not the proper venue for a statement that was made in California.”
She also said her client hadn’t made a false claim in connection with a “criminal matter” or a material false claim.
Government prosecutors in an opposition motion included images that show Ibrahim pulling aside his jacket to expose his badge and gun and said it was appropriate to file the charge in Washington because Ibrahim “made false statements about events that transpired in the District of Columbia, and he made those statements to an agent as part of a federal investigation in the District of Columbia.”
Kelly sided with the defense and dismissed the count, according to the docket for the case.
Defendants have rarely won such motions in Jan. 6 cases.
“I hope that defense-favorable outcomes become the norm as opposed to the exception in J6 cases. I won’t be discussing the details of any case until the case is entirely resolved, so I won’t be commenting on the result,” Medvin wrote on Twitter.
Kelly also rejected attempts to dismiss two other counts.
One such charge states that Ibrahim entered and remained on restricted grounds, or Capitol grounds, while then-Vice President Mike Pence and then-Vice President-elect Kamala Harris were present. But authorities have, for months, acknowledged that Harris wasn’t in or near the Capitol.
Kelly kept the charge but allowed the government to strike the portion referencing Harris. He also denied a request to dismiss a charge of possessing a firearm on Capitol grounds.
The next status conference for Ibrahim, who remains free on personal recognizance, is slated to take place on Nov. 30.
