United States District Judge Timothy Kelly dismissed one felony count in a California man’s criminal case stemming from his alleged involvement in the January 6 Capitol riot.
Mark Ibrahim, a former DEA agent, was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 21 on four charges for his actions on January 6, 2021. The charges included entering and remaining on restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon, carrying a firearm onto Capitol grounds, climbing on a statute during the riot, and lying to the FBI.
However, in a rare move, Judge Kelly granted Ibrahim’s motion to dismiss the false statement count.
Federal prosecutors alleged Ibrahim lied to the FBI about brandishing his DEA badge and a firearm during a March 2021 interview.
Ibrahim reportedly told FBI agents, “I had my creds. I had my firearm and my badge on me… But never exposed… Not that I know of.”
In a July 2021 affidavit, an FBI senior special agent wrote, “The photographs are of such high resolution that the serrations on the slide of Ibrahim’s DEA firearm are visible.”
Ibrahim reportedly gave the DEA notice of his intention to resign from the agency and was on personal leave on January 6, 2021.
As WUSA9 reported:
In August, Ibrahim’s attorney, Marina Medvin, filed a number of motions seeking to have the charges against Ibrahim dismissed. In her motion to dismiss count four of the indictment – the false statement count – Medvin said there were a number of defects with the charge. Most persuasive to the judge overseeing Ibrahim’s case, Medvin argued the D.C. District Court was an improper venue since the March 15 interview was conducted via Zoom while Ibrahim was in California and the investigating agent was in Virginia.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly agreed with Medvin and dismissed the false statement count against Ibrahim. Kelly largely sided with the government on the remaining motions to dismiss – denying a motion to dismiss a felony count of entering and remaining in a restricted grounds with a deadly and dangerous weapon and denying in part a third motion to dismiss a count for unlawfully carrying a firearm on Capitol grounds. Kelly said he would take part of Medvin’s argument on that charge under advisement and issue his ruling on Nov. 30.
Ibrahim’s successful motion to dismiss is a rare win among January 6 defendants, as these motions have largely failed in the more than 850 cases stemming from that day, WUSA9 reported.
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.
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