Capitol riot suspect Michael St. Pierre's trial delayed. Swansea grocer wants a new lawyer

Jo C. Goode, The Herald News
·5 min read
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Former Fall River grocer and Swansea resident Michael St. Pierre’s federal trial for his alleged role in the riot on the U. S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was supposed to start Monday morning.

But rather than moving ahead with a bench trial in federal District of Columbia District Court, federal Judge Jia M. Cobb approved a last-minute motion by St. Pierre to fire his court-appointed defense attorney.

According to federal docket notes, federal public defender Timothy G. Watkins will continue as St. Pierre’s attorney until a new one is appointed and a status conference is scheduled via a video hearing on April 22.

The court records do not indicate when St. Pierre will get a new trial date. He remains free on personal recognizance with bail conditions.

Mike St. Pierre appears in a still frame of a video he recorded himself and live-streamed to Facebook in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, where he said he was going to march to the Capitol and break in. St. Pierre was later recorded on video hurling an object into the building.
Mike St. Pierre appears in a still frame of a video he recorded himself and live-streamed to Facebook in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, where he said he was going to march to the Capitol and break in. St. Pierre was later recorded on video hurling an object into the building.

A federal grand jury handed up two indictments with eight counts, including felony obstruction of a civil proceeding.

Specifically, the August 2023 indictment accuses St. Pierre of attempting to impede Congress’s certification of the Electoral College vote in the 2020 presidential election between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

St. Pierre waived his right to a jury trial, declined to enter into any plea agreement and would not plead guilty to any felony counts.

'Caught up in the moment': Fall River store owner regrets his actions at Capitol riots

Mike St. Pierre of Fall River is seen here in a still frame from a TikTok video after hurling an object into the building during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C.
Mike St. Pierre of Fall River is seen here in a still frame from a TikTok video after hurling an object into the building during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C.

St. Pierre last-minute motion on “eve of trial”

St. Pierre filed an “emergency motion” on Friday through Watkins to be granted a continuance of the trial. He also requested a hearing with the judge regarding concerns he had with his legal representation.

In a separate motion filed Friday, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia opposed St. Pierre’s request to delay the trial, where is facing multiple felony and misdemeanor charges.

Prosecutors argued that St. Pierre was making the request on the “eve of trial” by asking for new representation, and noted that Watkins had been his defense attorney since his arrest in July 2023.

On Friday, Cobb ruled against St. Pierre’s request to dismiss the more serious charges, participating in civil disorder and the obstruction of an official proceeding.

Court filings reveal a glimpse into government’s case against St. Pierre

In the prosecutors' opposition to St. Pierre’s request for a delay, the U.S. attorney indicated that the government was prepared to proceed with the trial Monday morning and that they had witnesses ready to testify.

According to the prosecutors' motion, two FBI agents from out of state traveled this past weekend to assist with the trial in Washington.

“Significantly, the government also plans to call a victim witness who resides outside of Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. This particular witness is a retired Metropolitan Police Officer who rearranged his work schedule to travel to the District on Monday evening to testify on Tuesday,” according to the court filing.

St. Pierre's arrest: FBI arrests Swansea man who was at the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. Here's what he's charged with

Rioters stand on the West front of the U.S. Capitol building to protest the election of President-elect Joe Biden on Jan 6, 2020. More than 1,000 people have been charged in connection with the Capitol attack. The most serious charge has been seditious conspiracy - a felony involving attempts "to overthrow, put down or to destroy by force the government of the United States." Roughly 570 have pleaded guilty and 78 have been found guilty at trial. Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the right-wing Oath Keepers militant group, was given the longest of the sentences - 18 years in prison - for seditious conspiracy and other crimes. Leaders of the Proud Boys, another right-wing group, also were convicted of seditious conspiracy. They have yet to be sentenced.

St. Pierre's alleged role in the breach of the U.S. Capitol

Video and still images captured St. Pierre at the Capitol during the riot, which he posted on social media himself along with others.

According to a court filing by the government listing possible exhibits to present at trial, those images of St. Pierre at the Capitol on Jan. 6 will likely be brought out at trial.

In a video posted at the time to his own Facebook page, St. Pierre — who used the Facebook name "Mike Stadium" — is seen wearing head gear and a flak jacket marching toward the Capitol, saying he wanted to assault Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 

“Hopefully they’ll bust through, and I’ll join them to rush the Capitol, to grab Nancy Pelosi by the hair and f—— twirl her around,” St. Pierre states in the video. 

Who was charged? Use this interactive tool to search for suspects and cases in Jan. 6 riot

After the Capitol riot, St. Pierre admitted to local media, including The Herald News, that he’d traveled to Washington with his wife and daughter to march in the parade and protest the outcome of the election.

He said he regretted going to the country’s capital and claimed he’d been caught up in the moment.

At the time of the Jan. 6 riot, St. Pierre was the owner of the Family Foods Grocery Outlet on William S. Canning Boulevard. Not long afterward, the business shut down. He opened a retail snack store on Pleasant Street, but according to his Facebook account, recently shut that business down and is now selling his products online.

Fact check: What's real and not three years after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot

St. Pierre one of many defendants in the Jan. 6 riot of the Capitol

On April 6, the U.S. Attorney's Office of the District of Columbia released the latest data from their investigations 39 months after the attack on the Capitol, which interrupted the joint session of Congress to certify the presidential election results, resulting in five deaths and $3 million in damages:

  • The federal government arrested more than 1,387 people connected to Jan. 6 from almost all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

  • More than 353 people have been charged with corruptly obstructing, influencing or impeding an official proceeding, or attempting to do so.

  • About 493 people have been charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding officers or employees, including 129 defendants charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily harm to law enforcement officers.

  • About 57 defendants have been charged with conspiracy; either conspiracy to obstruct a congressional proceeding, conspiracy to obstruct law enforcement during a civil disorder, conspiracy to injure an officer, or some combination of the three.

  • About 1,300defendants have been charged with entering or remaining in a restricted federal building or grounds. Of those, 122 defendants have been charged with entering a restricted area with a dangerous or deadly weapon.

  • About 791individuals have pleaded guilty to a variety of federal charges, many who faced or will face incarceration at sentencing.

  • Approximately 244have pleaded guilty to felonies. Another 547have pleaded guilty to misdemeanors.

  • About 140 police officers were assaulted on Jan. 6 at the Capitol, including about 80 from the U.S. Capitol Police and about60 from the Metropolitan Police Department.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Capitol riot trial delayed after St. Pierre allowed to get new lawyer