Salisbury defendant with case related to Jan. 6 Capitol attack has May hearing date moved
A Salisbury, Maryland man was scheduled to have a court hearing this week for several charges, including “Obstruction of Law Enforcement During Civil Disorder,” but the date has again been moved —this the fourth instance of such shifting after the man’s January arrest and subsequent release.
Carlos Ayala, a retired Perdue executive and former member of the Maryland State Board of Elections, has yet to have his hearing day in court after being charged earlier this year in a criminal complaint for actions related to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol. The hearing was scheduled for May 23, 2024, at 1 p.m.
“According to allegations contained in court documents, Ayala was identified as among a group of rioters illegally gathered on restricted Capitol grounds,” said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, in a January 2024 release that announced his initial arrest. “Ayala is seen on video footage climbing over police barricades and making his way to the Upper West Terrace of the Capitol as rioters overran the police lines.”
The most recent shift of a hearing date came at the request of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, according to a court document filed on May 18. The request referred to two Jan. 6-related trials for other defendants scheduled in the weeks ahead, taking place in the same court. “Further, the parties are still trying to determine if they can resolve this case pretrial,” the document said.
A separate court document, filed May 20 with approval by a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said the hearing has been moved to July 30, 2024.
More: Salisbury, Maryland, Capitol riot defendant has court date moved again
More than 1,424 individuals have been charged since Jan. 6, 2021
The new scheduled hearing date comes less than two weeks after the Republican National Convention is set to conclude on July 18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Former President Donald Trump is the presumptive presidential nominee of the party, according to the Associated Press.
Reporting this week from ABC News indicated that “continuity of government” plans were being considered in the White House’s Situation Room on Jan. 6, 2021, when the U.S. Capitol building was under attack and the then-vice president was in danger. An officer in the situation room on that day said then-President Trump did not, to his knowledge, call the room from an upper floor in the White House.
Trump has his own federal case pending against him related to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
A press release this week from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, similar in form to the one that announced Ayala’s arrest in January and the charges against him, announced the guilty plea of a Kentucky man on a federal conspiracy charge to impede or injure an officer on Jan. 6, 2021.
The May 17 release lacked the final line included on the January release about Ayala’s case: “all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.” The U.S. Department of Justice release also showed the extent of those charged in connection with the U.S. Capitol breach as well as the number of those charged in connection with the impeding or assaulting of law enforcement officers on that day of the scheduled ceremony for the counting of Electoral College votes and certifying the results of the election.
“In the 40 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,424 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 500 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony,” the press release said. “The investigation remains ongoing.”
More: January 6 United States Capitol attack defendant resigns from posts, to get day in court
Dwight A. Weingarten is an investigative reporter, covering the Maryland State House and state issues. He can be reached at dweingarten@gannett.com or on Twitter at @DwightWeingart2.
This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Jan. 6 attack: Hearing date moved for Salisbury defendant
