Jenny Louise Cudd, a supporter of former President Trump who proudly stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, has requested her trial be moved to avoid a tainted jury pool in Washington, D.C.
Defense lawyer Marina Medvin asked for the change of venue Wednesday on behalf of Ms. Cudd, 36, a Texas florist charged in D.C. federal court with five counts related to the rioting on Capitol Hill.
Ms. Cudd boasted about having “charged the Capitol” in a Facebook video she posted on social media shortly afterward, and she told a reporter two days later that she “would absolutely do it again.”
Weeks later, after being arrested on related charges, Ms. Cudd requested and received permission to travel to Mexico while awaiting trial, consequently attracting considerable attention to her case.
Indeed, Ms. Medvin alleges Ms. Cudd has been “singled out” by local outlets in Washington, adding to an array of factors that she claims warrants the case being decided by jurors from Texas where she lives.
Making her argument in a 37-page memorandum, Ms. Medvin claimed the local coverage about Ms. Cudd has led to it being impossible for her to receive a fair and impartial trial in the nation’s capital.
Other concerns raised by Ms. Medvin involve reports that characterized Ms. Cudd as having benefited from “white privilege” for being allowed to travel to Mexico after she breached the Capitol, as well as how residents of Washington, specifically, might feel compelled to convict, particularly given the city’s “political culture of “canceling” those associated with allegations of ‘white supremacy’.”
“A trial in Washington D.C. for Ms. Cudd would be by jurors who voted almost unanimously against Donald Trump, who have been barraged with propaganda about a ‘white nationalist’ attack by people with ‘white privilege,’ who are continuously told they were victims of an ‘insurrection,’ who were placed under curfew and locked down as a result, and who have been placed under seemingly endless military hold because of danger posed by ‘Domestic Violent Extremists,” Ms. Medvin wrote.
“On top of that, the jury would be overseeing the case of a defendant they have gotten to know as the ‘white privileged’ woman with the selfie videos in that group of ‘insurrectionists’ who triggered the city siege,” the lawyer added. “The unavoidable community prejudice, and particularized prejudice against Ms. Cudd, render the venire so greatly prejudiced against her that Ms. Cudd cannot obtain a fair and impartial trial in Washington D.C.”
The U.S. Department of Justice had not responded to the filing as of Thursday afternoon.
Ms. Cudd faces charges of obstruction of an official proceeding; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building; and aiding and abetting the obstruction of an official proceeding.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.