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- Jenny Cudd, who was charged in the Capitol riots, wants her trial moved to West Texas.
- Her attorneys say that the jury pool in DC is tainted, politically-prejudiced, and anti-Trump.
- Cudd is a florist and former mayoral candidate from Midland, Texas.
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A woman charged in connection with the US Capitol riots has asked for her trial to be held not in DC, but western Texas, because her attorneys argue that a more Republican-friendly jury would be "fairer" to her.
Jenny Cudd, 36, a florist and former mayoral candidate from Midland, Texas, notoriously bragged on a Facebook Live stream about storming the Capitol on Jan. 6.
In the live stream, she said that "we (broke) down Nancy Pelosi's door." She also declared that she was "proud of (her) actions" while praising and defending Trump, her fellow "patriots," and "the patriot party."
According to court documents seen by Insider, Cudd is requesting a change of trial venue "due to significant prejudice in the District of Columbia." She is now requesting for the case to be moved to western Texas so that she can have a "fair and impartial trial."
Defendants are usually required by law to be tried in the state where the crime occurred.
Cudd is set to stand trial at the US District Courthouse in Washington, DC, which according to the Washington Post, draws from a DC jury pool of some 330,000 people who voted for Biden over Trump.
In comparison, the Midland-Odessa division in West Texas where Cudd is attempting to have her case moved voted primarily for Trump, handing the former president 77% of the vote versus 22% in favor of Biden.
"Pretrial publicity and community prejudice in Washington DC is so likely to have affected the jury pool that the entire panel must be presumed as tainted," said Cudd's attorney Marina Medvin in the application, citing as well a "lack of political diversity" amongst potential jurors.
"The facts of this case center around Donald Trump and his supporters. The evidence, in this case, is emotionally political in every respect," Medvin wrote, adding that the jury would be "the most politically prejudiced jury in the entire country."
Cudd has, on multiple occasions, claimed that she is a victim of "cancel culture." This was echoed by her lawyer, Medvin, who said that potential jurors would face "social pressure" to "punish Cudd for being politically incorrect" and that any verdict "could be readily based on pretrial media affiliation of Ms. Cudd with 'white supremacy.'"
Medvin cited as well the possibility that media coverage could affect the trial after it was widely reported that a judge had granted Cudd's request last month to travel to Mexico for a "bonding retreat."
The Post reported that this motion for a venue change is the first request made by a defendant indicted in connection with the riots. Over 300 people have been charged in connection with the January insurrection.
Court documents indicate that Cudd was indicted on five charges, including obstruction of an official proceeding, trespassing, disorderly conduct, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in the Capitol building.
These charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.