A Nevada man awaiting trial on charges that he stormed the U.S. Capitol has been jailed after he allegedly made threats directed at Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett and other public officials.
Bradley Scott Nelson's 鈥渆scalating rhetoric鈥 is grounds for keeping him detained until a hearing next week, a federal magistrate judge in Maryland ruled Tuesday.
In July, U.S. District Judge John Bates agreed to revoke Nelson's pretrial release and issued a warrant for his arrest. Bates is scheduled to preside over a hearing next Wednesday on whether to keep Nelson detained until his trial on charges stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by a mob of supporters of then-President Donald Trump.
outlines the threats that Nelson is accused of making this year, in social media posts and other statements.
Nelson last month allegedly posted an image of Attorney General Merrick Garland with apparent crosshairs drawn on Garland's head. Special counsel Jack Smith, appointed by Garland, is prosecuting Trump in an in Washington and a in Florida.
In June, Nelson allegedly threatened Barrett approximately one hour after the Supreme Court issued a ruling limiting the application of a used to charge hundreds of Capitol riot defendants as well as Trump. Barrett cast a dissenting vote in that case. Nelson said he hoped that somebody would cut her throat 鈥渇rom ear to ear,鈥 according to the magistrate's order.
In February, Nelson allegedly posted an image of New York Attorney General Letitia James with crosshairs on her head and he profanely expressed a desire to see her 鈥渉ead explode, or at least the back of her head blowout.鈥 That same month, a New York judge ordered Trump to pay in a civil fraud case brought by James' office.
Nelson, a long-haul truck driver, also is accused of posting videos in which he expressed hatred for two FBI agents assigned to his Jan. 6 case.
鈥淭he government describes Nelson as becoming so 鈥榲erbally combative and confrontational鈥 towards one agent that a deputy United States Marshal escorted the agent to their car due to safety concerns,鈥 Austin wrote in his order.
An attorney who represents Nelson in his Capitol riot case declined to comment.
Nelson鈥檚 jury trial is scheduled to start Dec. 10. He was arrested in March 2023 on misdemeanor charges, including disorderly conduct. Surveillance videos captured Nelson in the mob of rioters who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, .
