Prosecutors point to show tune lyrics, claim Jan. 6th defendant wanted to join a revolution
Texan Christopher Grider’s case will continue Monday, December 16.
WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Closing arguments in the trial of Christopher Grider are expected to come on Monday, with federal Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly saying she will rule either Tuesday or Wednesday.
Friday marked the third and potentially most bizarre day of Grider taking the stand. During their cross-examination of Grider, prosecutors played the entire song ‘One Day More’ from the musical Les Miserables. They said Grider sent a link to that song to his wife and friend on January 5th, the day before the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Prosecutors pointed to lyrics in that song, such as “one day more to revolution,” to say it showed Grider intended to be part of a revolution on January 6th.
Grider countered and said that he meant nothing more than to say just one more day until he got to see former President Trump speak in D.C. Grider also said that Les Miserables is his wife’s favorite musical, and that the friend he sent the link to enjoys musical theater.
Prosecutors also tried to discredit Grider’s defense that he was simply in D.C., thinking he would see the former president speaking. They highlighted that Grider is heard on video recordings while inside the Capitol saying “hold the line”, “stop the steal”, and “let us in or we’ll go in.”
Later in the day, we also saw Grider and Judge Kollar-Kotelly in an exchange where she said Grider’s testimony about when he knew he didn’t belong in the Capitol did not match what he said in an earlier plea agreement addressing other charges…. But later said she’d accept and consider both explanations.
Grider told Judge Kollar-Kotelly that part of his motive for being in the capitol on January sixth was to demonstrate that he supported Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) objecting to the certification of the 2020 presidential election. Also, Grider testified that he didn’t intend to disrupt the certification process.
Grider is facing a series of charges related to violence and disorderly conduct in the Capitol, along with obstructing an official proceeding for disrupting the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
As Grider chose a bench trial, not a trial by jury, Judge Kollar-Kotelly will decided whether Grider is innocent or guilty of any of the charges against him.
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