Gina Bisignano is being prosecuted for taking part in the incursion into the U.S. Capitol on January 6 and was supposed to be transferred from California for a court appearance in Washington, DC, but a glitch in paperwork left her languishing in jail for two weeks after her arrest.
Bisignano, 52, who owns a salon in Beverly Hills, was incarcerated on January 20. Arrangements for her transfer were finalized after the Department of Justice reached out to California authorities on February 5.
Politico reported on Bisignano, who faces numerous charges including interfering with police during civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, and aiding in the destruction of government property:
In social media posts and in interviews with media outlets, Bisignano boasted of her role in the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol. Authorities say she entered the building twice and can be seen close to someone who broke a window of the historic building during the mayhem.
“This is 1776, and we the people will never give up. We will never let our country go to the globalists. George Soros, you can go to hell,” Bisignano shouted into a bullhorn as other protesters clashed with police, an FBI agent said in a court filing.
Bisignano appeared in federal court in Los Angeles the same day as her arrest last month. A federal magistrate judge there ordered her pretrial release over the objection of prosecutors and declined to stay the decision to allow an appeal. Prosecutors quickly appealed and won an order from Chief U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell temporarily blocking the magistrate’s release order and instructing that Bisignano be transported to Washington for a hearing on the government’s appeal seeking to keep her behind bars.
Howell ordered that Bisignano be transferred, but it did not happen. It took until a Monday hearing to get things straightened out after Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Paschall, who is assigned to the Bisignano case, acknowledged the mistake.
“We, the Department of Justice, through my counterpart in the Central District of California submitted the chief judge’s order to stay and the transport order to the U.S. Marshals in California on Jan. 20,” Paschall said. “However, it appears they did not process that request until we reached out to them on Feb. 5 to glean what happened.
At the hearing, Judge Carl Nichols expressed concern about the situation.
“Has she been detained that whole time?” Nichols asked.
Paschall responded that the suspect had been jailed since January 20.
“Bisignano’s lawyer, Charles Peruto of Philadelphia, asked if his client could be released and allowed to travel to D.C. on her own, rather than go ‘from bus to bus to bus’ in the custody of federal marshals,” Politico reported. “Paschall said the government’s preference was that Bisignano remain in custody until the appeal of the magistrate’s release order is decided.”
Nichols said in the Politico report that he would hold a virtual hearing on the detention and bail issue next Wednesday. It is not clear whether Bisignano will still be required to be transported to D.C.
Follow Penny Starr on Twitter or send news tips to pstarr@breitbart.com
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