WASHINGTON — A Maryland man accused of physically confronting police multiple times inside the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6 may be heading to trial after rejecting a plea offer from the government, the Justice Department said Monday.
Daniel Egtvedt, a one-time Republican donor who lived in northern Virginia before moving to Western Maryland, is facing seven counts – four of them felonies – for fighting with police officers and physically resisting attempts to keep him from moving further down the Hall of Columns. Egvedt has argued Capitol Police officers actually assaulted him, knocking him into a pillar causing a concussion – although video of his confrontation with police appears to dispute that.
On Monday, Egtvedt appeared before U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper for a ruling on his motion to be allowed to move to his family’s condominium “a football field away” from his brother’s home. His brother has been acting as his third party custodian since his release on pretrial detention in March.
Before ruling on the motion, however, Cooper heard a status update from the DOJ on plea discussions in the case. According to the DOJ, Egtvedt had rejected a previous plea offer in the case.
“The defense has no interest in that,” DOJ attorneys told Cooper.
But Egtvedt's attorney, Kira Anne West, said they had received a new offer Sunday night that would have him plead guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting an officer – both felony charges. According to prosecutors, the deal would have put Egtvedt’s estimated sentencing guideline at approximately 33-51 months in prison.
West said they would discuss the new offer further, and also said they were hoping to get more surveillance footage from the government showing the exterior of the Capitol. West said there “may be footage that shows the police waving people into the Capitol.”
After hearing the status update, Cooper told Egtvedt he would be granting his motion to move to the family’s condo under his brother’s continued supervision.
“This is a test,” Cooper said. “So, if you don’t continue to comply at the condominium and your brother says that he doesn’t want you back because you are a strain on the family, I will put you back in jail.”
Cooper said if the case does go to trial, the current state of the court calendar suggested a June trial date was likely the earliest option. Egtvedt will be back in court on January 18 for his next status conference.