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18-year-old Georgia Capitol attack suspect assaulted while in custody, court filings show

By WSBTV.com News Staff
By WSBTV.com News Staff

NORTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A teen Georgia suspect charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection was allegedly assaulted by another inmate while in federal custody.

Channel 2′s Mike Petchenik received new court filings that described the assault of 18-year-old Bruno Cua.

“First, we understand that Mr. Cua was assaulted and then threatened by a fellow inmate over this past weekend. We understand that the inmate struck Mr. Cua in the face with his open hand, injuring his nose, over the use of the phone, and then threatened him regarding the incident,” according to the court filings.

After the alleged assault, Cua was put in solitary confinement.

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On Monday, Channel 2 Action News reported that Cua had contracted COVID-19 and his attorneys want him released on bond.

A judge is asking the government under what conditions Cua could be safely released to prevent spread of the virus.

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Prosecutors say Cua was among dozens of people who forced their way into the Capitol during the insurrection.

The FBI says video shows the teen in the Senate chamber after he shoved a Capitol officer on his way onto the floor.

In court filings, prosecutors point to dozens of social media posts Cua made before and after the event and his alleged actions on the day in question.

“Public social media posts on the platform Parler by the defendant in this case evinces a full picture of who this really defendant is: a radicalized man with violent tendencies and no remorse for his participation in the violent insurrection,” prosecutors said.

Cua’s attorneys, however, claim he should be released from an Oklahoma detention facility while he awaits a scheduled May trial on multiple charges, including assault of a Capitol police officer.

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“The defense must reemphasize for the Court that, despite the rhetoric included in the messages and posts provided by the government, Mr. Cua took no actions to follow through on any of those messages after January 6—a full month before his arrest. That lack of action demonstrates Mr. Cua had no intent to follow through on any social media posts with further actions,” Cua’s attorneys said.

Teen charged in Capitol insurrection asks court to be released from prison while awaiting trial Prosecutors say Bruno Cua, 18, was among dozens of people who forced their way into the Capitol during the insurrection.

Cox Media Group

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