A Crawford County resident charged in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol will go on trial again after his defense dropped a mental health challenge.
Jeremy J. Volas, 46, of Venango, recently underwent a psychological evaluation and found that his “mental health condition did not render him incompetent to stand trial,” his federal public defender said. said in a motion filed in federal district court. District of Columbia.
In the motion, the attorney asked that the request for a competency hearing be withdrawn in light of the results of the psychological test. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras granted the revocation after a status conference Thursday, according to court records.
The psychological examination caused Volas’ trial, which was scheduled to begin Sept. 24, to be postponed, but Contreras did not set a trial date Thursday. He set a Dec. 3 deadline for pretrial filings.
In August, Contreras ordered Volas to undergo a psychological evaluation. Mr. Volas’ lawyer said that Mr. Volas’ actions during the July meeting showed that the defense believes he “suffers from a mental illness or defect that, despite his best efforts, is unable to adequately assist in his own defense.” He handed down the sentence after he said he was made to believe that he was mentally incapacitated. attorney’s efforts to assist him,” the defense motion states. Details were not disclosed.
Mr. Volas, from northwestern Pennsylvania, is the last person to be tried for rioting.
Volas is one of four defendants from northwestern Pennsylvania charged in the Jan. 6 attack. The remaining three, one from Meadville in Crawford County and two from McKean County, were sentenced.
Mr. Volas maintains his innocence and is free on his own recognizance.
He faces 11 counts. That includes assaulting police officers three times with bicycle racks, wooden signs and other objects during the storming of the Capitol in support of then-President Donald Trump.
Volas was also initially charged with obstructing a public process, a joint session of Congress convened on January 6, 2021, to certify the electoral votes of the 2020 presidential election won by Joe Biden. was.
Contreras dismissed the charges on September 6 at the request of the defense. The defense cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 28 decision in Fisher v. United States. The decision narrows the government’s authority to prosecute Jan. 6 defendants for obstruction.
Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com or 814-870-1813. Follow him on X @ETN Paraterra.
