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During arraignment, Capitol riot defendant defiantly predicts Trump will win election and shutter Jan. 6 criminal cases
A high-level U.S. Capitol riot defendant openly and brazenly predicted he’d be cleared of charges by the reelection of former President Donald Trump this fall.
John Banuelos of Illinois, accused of firing a loaded gun in a mob while outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, interrupted his arraignment proceedings Monday with blistering criticism for his court-appointed defense lawyer, denunciations of the District of Columbia and vulgarity in his verbal exchanges with the judge.
When urged by Washington, D.C. federal judge Tanya Chutkan to be careful about what he said open court, Banuelos told the judge, “Trump is going to be in office in six months, so I have nothing to worry about.”
Judge Chutkan again told Banuelos to be cautious with public statements about his case.
Government exhibit
Though other Jan. 6 defendants have expressed hope for a future presidential pardon, Banuelos’ statement was an explicit reference in a judicial setting.
Trump posted on social media earlier this year that among his first acts if returned to the White House would be to “[f]ree the January 6 Hostages being wrongfully imprisoned!”
According to the Justice Department, on Jan. 6, Banuelos was captured on video as he climbed a scaffolding being used to prepare the Capitol for Joe Biden’s inauguration. Prosecutors allege he waved to the crowd, pulled out his gun and fired two shots in the air.
The Justice Department filed charges against Banuelos in March, noting that “Banuelos raised his jacket to reveal a firearm in his waistband. He then moved to the south side of the West Plaza, where he was a part of a crowd that had breached the police line.” The allegations against him prompted questions about claims by some Trump supporters that Jan. 6 was not an “armed insurrection.”
Banuelos faces multiple charges that are uncommon in Jan. 6 cases, including entering a restricted building with a deadly weapon or firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm at the Capitol.
He had multiple outbursts during arraignment on Monday, during which his court-appointed attorney entered a not guilty plea for Banuelos. Thirty-nine-year-old Banuelos derided the public defender assigned to represent him as a “public pretender.”
Banuelos told Judge Chutkan, “They’re f***ing with me.”
Chutkan disputed the criticism and told Banuelos he’s been given high-level, knowledgeable defense attorneys by the court. Banuelos also openly questioned why he’s set to be transferred from a holding facility in Chicago to a pretrial detention facility in or new Washington, D.C.
“I fear for my life in D.C.,” he said. He then asked Chutkan, “Why am I still being held while others aren’t?”
Chutkan told Banuelos the Jan. 6 cases are all being prosecuted in Washington, D.C., because that was the location of the crime. Defendants who are ordered held in detention pending trial in Capitol riot cases are transferred to the Washington, D.C.-area, she said.
The judge also told Banuelos that the pretrial detention order was due to a magistrate judge’s determination that Banuelos poses a risk to the safety of the community or a flight risk. Chutkan also said she might be asked to review Banuelos’ pretrial detention if Banuelos’ defense attorney files a motion asking her to do so.
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President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration starts off with mostly good will from the public: a majority of Americans overall are either happy or at least satisfied that he won and are either excited or optimistic about what he’ll do as president.
Trump’s handling of his presidential transition gets approval from most Americans overall and brings near-universal approval from his voters, along with a net-positive response about his selections for Cabinet posts, in particular, Sen. Marco Rubio, who is Trump’s pick to be secretary of state.
After inflation and the economy so dominated the election, Americans are more inclined to think his administration will bring down prices for food and groceries rather than raise them, and his voters overwhelmingly say that. Going into the election, his backers expected that, too.
In a similar vein, Trump’s election already has some Republicans’ views of the economy improving.
Overall, Republicans today are more excited about what Trump will do as president now than they were in 2016 when he was first elected.
Democrats say they feel more scared about what Trump might do than they did in 2016, and a large majority of Democrats think as president he will threaten their rights and freedoms. But at the same time, there seems to be a sense of exhaustion, as fewer than half of Democrats feel motivated to oppose Trump right now.
Americans, and Democrats specifically, do think the Biden administration should work with the incoming Trump administration to ensure a smooth transition, and that congressional Democrats should work with Donald Trump on issues where they find common ground.
Trump and the economy
After winning comes expectations. There’s a net optimism about the incoming administration’s effect on food and grocery prices, especially among Trump’s voters. That comes as most Americans continue to say prices are currently rising. And inflation was a big factor in Trump winning in the first place.
It may be no surprise then that among many potential items for the incoming administration, Americans say plans to lower prices ought to be the top priority.
The percentage of Republicans who call the U.S. economy good, while still low, has gone up, as the percentage who call it very bad has dropped. That pushes voters’ overall evaluation of the economy slightly higher than it’s been this year — and further spotlights how much partisanship, along with optimism, always plays into these evaluations.
Trump selections of Cabinet and agency chiefs for his administration
Trump’s current selections for agency heads and Cabinet picks get rated overwhelmingly as good choices from Trump’s voters, and are net-positive as selections among Americans who have heard enough about them to say. (Many have not heard enough yet.)
As a general rule, Americans want Trump to appoint people who’ll speak their minds and who have experience in the field or agency they’ll run. But in addition to those qualities, Republicans also want people who’ll be loyal to Trump.
A large majority of Republicans and Trump voters think Elon Musk should have at least some influence in the Trump administration. Americans overall are more split on that, largely along partisan lines.
Big majorities of Americans — and a slight majority of Republicans — would like to see the Senate hold hearings on his nominations, rather than let him make those appointments without it.
(Within self-identified Republicans, MAGA Republicans are relatively more inclined to say the Senate should skip the hearings.)
That sentiment holds whether or not people are told or reminded that the Constitution says the Senate should give advice and consent.
As a general matter, though, most of Trump’s voters and most Republicans do want Trump to have more presidential power this term than he did in his last. That sentiment is higher among Republican voters now than during the campaign.
Trump policies
On another economic front, Trump’s voters overwhelmingly favor the idea of tariffs: most of them don’t believe that will make prices higher. (For the third who believe tariffs will raise prices but support them anyhow, this is presumably a cost they’re willing to bear.)
For the public overall, opposition to tariffs goes hand in hand with the belief they’ll lead to higher prices.
As was the case with voters throughout the campaign, most Americans would, in principle, approve of a new mass deportation program.
If the Trump administration does start a mass deportation program, most of the public would have it carried out by law enforcement or current immigration agencies — most would not have the U.S. military do it.
Elections and democracy
The 2024 results have shifted Republicans’ views of U.S. democracy and also returned some confidence to their view of U.S. elections. Few Republicans suspect fraud in 2024. They overwhelmingly did about 2020.
Following Trump’s victory, there’s been an increase in the number of Republicans who say democracy and rule of law is secure, though most Americans continue to say it is not.
Looking ahead, there’s another shift along partisan lines. Throughout the campaign, Republicans said America’s best days were in its past, while Democrats felt they were in the future. These views are reversed now. After Trump’s win, most Republicans feel America’s best days are in its future.
This CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,232 U.S. adults interviewed between November 19-22, 2024. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide according to gender, age, race, and education, based on the U.S. Census American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as 2024 presidential vote. The margin of error is ±2.3 points.
