According to Newser, a Jan. 6 Capitol riot defendant from Nevada who was out on release while awaiting trial is now in jail until a hearing is held to consider full revocation of his pre-trial release.

That is because the defendant, Bradley Scott Nelson, now stands accused of making violent death threats against Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett and other public officials.

Nelson made the threat against Barrett after she dissented from the high court's majority opinion on the Fischer v. United States case that involved the Justice Department's dubious overuse of a white-collar obstruction charge against hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants.

Made threats against Justice Barrett, other officials

The Associated Press reported that Washington D.C. District Judge John Bates issued a bench warrant for Nelson's arrest last month and scheduled a hearing for next week to consider whether his pre-trial release following his initial arrest in March 2023 should be fully revoked.

On Thursday, a federal magistrate in Maryland, Judge Charles Austin, ordered Nelson to remain in custody at least until the hearing with Bates next week because of his "escalating rhetoric" and threats against prominent public officials from both political parties.

Judge Austin's nine-page order outlined some of the threatening social media posts Nelson had made, including one that featured an image of Justice Barrett and a caption about his desire to see her throat cut "ear to ear," which he posted roughly one hour after the Supreme Court's Fischer opinion, in which she dissented, was published.

In addition to that threat against Barrett, Nelson also separately posted images of U.S Attorney General Merrick Garland, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and a Georgia judge presiding over an election interference case, all with crosshairs superimposed over their heads and explicit captions about his desire to see them killed.

Previously, Nelson had also posted threats online against former Attorney General William Barr and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), among others. He had further posted videos on social media in which he railed against the two FBI agents who'd interviewed him after his initial arrest for Jan. 6-related charges.

Determined to be a "danger to the community"

In Judge Austin's order, it was determined that Nelson, despite being a long-haul truck driver based in Nevada, was not a flight risk and was fully expected to appear for his impending trial and other court proceedings.

However, because of the "escalating nature of Nelson's statements" and his increasingly violent "escalating rhetoric" toward public officials, the magistrate judge determined that Nelson posed a potential "danger to the community" and, as such, should continue to be held in custody.

"This is a close case," Austin wrote. "In balancing the relevant considerations required by the Bail Reform Act, the Court is also mindful of the tension between the need to assess danger to the community and Mr. Nelson’s First Amendment right to express his views on politics, government officials,
and social issues."

"Based on the foregoing, however, the Court finds that the present and proposed conditions are insufficient to provide reasonable assurance of community safety until Judge Bates can rule on the government’s revocation motion," he continued.

Faces trial in December for Jan. 6-related charges

According to an FBI affidavit, Nelson acknowledged in social media posts at the time that he was present at and a participant in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, and that admission was confirmed by his being spotted and identified in surveillance camera footage. Per the AP, his trial is scheduled to begin in December.

Nelson is not accused of engaging in any violence during the riot, however, but instead faces a litany of misdemeanor charges, per the magistrate's order, that includes "obstruction of an official proceeding; entering and remaining on restricted grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct; and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in the Capitol."