Bail Laws Matter Too. And Due Process.

By

Spencer S. Hsu

Yesterday at 11:10 p.m. EDT

A three-judge appeals court panel has ordered the release of West Virginia sandwich shop owner George Tanios pending trial in the Jan. 6 chemical-spray assault on three police officers including Brian D. Sicknick, who died the following day after suffering two strokes.

A lower court “clearly erred in its individualized assessment of appellant’s dangerousness,” the judges from the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said in an order filed Monday night.

“The record reflects that Tanios has no past felony convictions, no ties to any extremist organizations, and no post-January 6 criminal behavior that would otherwise show him to pose a danger to the community within the meaning of the Bail Reform Act,” the order said.

The court gave prosecutors seven days to appeal or seek rehearing before the full appeals court.

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Sicknick, 42, was injured while attempting to hold back a violent crowd on the west terrace of the Capitol. He collapsed hours later and died the next day of natural causes, officials said. Neither Tanios or Khater is alleged to have caused Sicknick’s death.

The medical examiner said an autopsy found no evidence Sicknick suffered an allergic reaction to chemical irritants. There was also no evidence of internal or external injuries, the medical examiner said.