Local business owner still waiting for day in court after January 6 insurrection – KWTX
WACO, Texas (KWTX) – A year after the insurrection at the Capitol, more than 700 people have been charged, including a local business owner.
Chris Grider, who owns a local vineyard, was in Washington, D.C. last year on Jan. 6. He told KWTX about his experience, including going into the Capitol. He was arrested in January, but has been out of custody since February.
Brent Mayr, Grider’s attorney, said the case is moving forward slowly.
“There have been no trial dates that have been set. We have a status conference set next week,” Mayr said. “And the reason why there’s no trial dates that have been set is because this case is taking a long time to develop. There is just mountains of evidence that the government is having to go through before they then turn it over to us to review.”
Mayr said typically, federal investigations can take a year, or even two, before charges are filed. In this case, Mayr said charges were filed quickly. Now the government has to go through the lengthy process of reviewing and presenting evidence.
Currently, Grider is out of custody as his case moves forward, but Mayr said he facing several restrictions.
“He’s wearing an ankle monitor. He’s being monitored by federal authorities there in Waco,” Mayr said. “He still able to go to work, he’s still able to support his family, but he is still subject to many restrictions. He can’t travel without court permission. He has to be in his home between certain hours of the night.”
Mayr said this case is unprecedented, and that’s one of the challenges. He said another challenge is the tendency to label everyone the same way.
“Each individual who was in Washington, D.C. on January 6, had a different experience,” Mayr said. “There were people there that went there with the intent to do harm with the intent to obstruct the proceedings, okay. But that was not the same for every single person that was there. And so trying to distinguish and to create and differentiate individuals like Chris is the true challenge.”
Grider is facing several charges, including obstruction of an official proceeding, which Mayr said they are working to have dropped. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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