United States v. Warnagiris

District Court, District of Columbia·Decided October 23, 2023·No. Criminal No. 2021-0382·Published

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA )

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v. ) Criminal No. 21-0382 (PLF)

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CHRISTOPHER WARNAGIRIS, )

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Defendant. )

____________________________________)

OPINION AND ORDER

A bench trial in this case is scheduled to begin on November 8, 2023. See Scheduling Order [Dkt. No. 59]. In anticipation of trial, the government has filed three motions in limine seeking to limit the kind of evidence and arguments that defendant Christopher Warnagiris can present at trial. Mr. Warnagiris has also filed a motion in limine seeking to limit the government’s ability to present “non-particularized” evidence about the events of January 6, 2021. The Court heard oral argument on the motions on October 16, 2023.

The Court has carefully considered the parties’ written submissions, counsels’

presentations at oral argument, and the applicable authorities. For the following reasons, the Court will hold Mr. Warnagiris’s motion in abeyance until the final pretrial conference, and the Court will grant in part, deny in part, and otherwise hold in abeyance the government’s motions. 1

1 The Court has reviewed the following documents in connection with the pending motions: Second Superseding Indictment (“Indictment”) [Dkt. No. 49]; United States’ Motion in Limine Regarding Cross Examination of U.S. Secret Service Witness (“U.S.S.S. Mot.”) [Dkt. No. 66]; United States’ Motion in Limine Regarding Evidence About the Specific Locations of U.S. Capitol Police Surveillance Cameras [Dkt. No. 67]; United States’ Omnibus Motions in Limine (“Omnibus Mot.”) [Dkt. No. 69]; Defendant’s Motion in Limine to Exclude Generalized, Sweeping, Non-Particularized January 6 Evidence (“Def. Mot.”) [Dkt. No. 70]; Response to Government’s “Omnibus” Motion in Limine (“Omnibus Opp.”) [Dkt. No. 76]; Response to

I. BACKGROUND

The events of January 6, 2021 are summarized in the Court’s opinion in United States v. Puma, 596 F. Supp. 3d 90, 93-94 (D.D.C. 2022), and the government’s allegations specifically against Mr. Warnagiris are summarized in this Court’s opinion in United States v. Warnagiris, Crim. No. 21-0382, 2023 WL 6926491, at *2 (D.D.C. Oct. 19, 2023).

The government has filed three motions in limine seeking to limit Mr.

Warnagiris’s ability to introduce certain evidence and make certain arguments at trial. See U.S.S.S. Mot.; United States’ Motion in Limine Regarding Evidence About the Specific Locations of U.S. Capitol Police Surveillance Cameras; Omnibus Mot. Mr. Warnagiris has filed one motion in limine seeking to limit the government’s use of “generalized” and “non- particularized” evidence relating to the events at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. See Def. Mot. The Court has addressed many of the issues raised in the parties’ motions in opinions it issued in two other January 6 cases: United States v. Baez, Crim. No. 21-0507, 2023 WL 6364648 (D.D.C. Sept. 29, 2023) and United States v. Gunby, Crim. No. 21-0626, 2023 WL 6796061 (D.D.C. Oct. 13, 2023).

II. LEGAL STANDARD

Courts evaluate the admissibility of evidence on a pretrial motion in limine according to the framework established by Rules 401 and 402 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. See Daniels v. District of Columbia, 15 F. Supp. 3d 62, 66-67 (D.D.C. 2014); see also United

Government’s Motion in Limine to Limit Cross Examination of U.S.S.S. Witness (“U.S.S.S. Opp.”) [Dkt. No. 78]; Government’s Opposition to Defendant’s Motion in Limine to Exclude Relevant Evidence of Core Elements of Counts One, Two, Four, Five, and Six (“Gov’t Opp.”) [Dkt. No. 81]; and United States’ Reply to Opposition to its Motion in Limine Regarding Cross- Examination of U.S. Secret Service Witness (“U.S.S.S. Reply”) [Dkt. No. 83].

States v. Sutton, 636 F. Supp. 3d 179, 190 (D.D.C. 2022); Democracy Partners, LLC v. Project Veritas Action Fund, Civil Action No. 17-1047, 2022 WL 3334689, at *3 (D.D.C. Aug. 12, 2022). First, “the Court must assess whether the evidence is relevant.” Daniels v. District of Columbia, 15 F. Supp. 3d at 66. “Evidence is relevant if: (a) it has any tendency to make a fact more or less probable than it would be without the evidence; and (b) the fact is of consequence in determining the action.” FED. R. EVID. 401. “Relevant evidence is admissible” unless an applicable authority provides otherwise, whereas “[i]rrelevant evidence is not admissible.” FED. R. EVID. 402. The proponent of admitting an item of evidence has the initial burden of establishing relevance. See Dowling v. United States, 493 U.S. 342, 351 n.3 (1990); United States v. Oseguera Gonzalez, 507 F. Supp. 3d 137, 147 (D.D.C. 2020).

Even if the proponent of an item of evidence can demonstrate its relevance, however, a court may still conclude that it is inadmissible if “the United States Constitution; a federal statute; [the Federal Rules of Evidence]; or other rules prescribed by the Supreme Court” provide for its exclusion. FED. R. EVID. 402. Rule 403 of the Federal Rules of Evidence states that a court may “exclude relevant evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by a danger of . . . unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, misleading the jury, undue delay, wasting time, or needlessly presenting cumulative evidence.” FED. R. EVID. 403.

Limiting the scope of cross-examination is within the discretion of a trial court and does not necessarily conflict with the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause, which enshrines the defendant’s right “to be confronted with the witnesses against him.” U.S. CONST. AMEND. VI; see, e.g., United States v. Machado-Erazo, 951 F. Supp. 2d 148, 158 (D.D.C. 2013) (“[T]he Confrontation Clause guarantees an opportunity for effective cross-examination, not cross-examination that is effective in whatever way, and to whatever extent, the defense might

wish.”) (citing Delaware v. Fensterer, 474 U.S. 15, 20 (1985)); United States v. Miller, 738 F.3d 361, 375 (D.C. Cir. 2013) (“Although the Confrontation Clause guarantees an opportunity for effective cross-examination, ‘trial judges retain wide latitude . . . to impose reasonable limits on such cross-examination.’”) (quoting Delaware v. Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. 673, 679 (1986)).

III. DISCUSSION

A. Government’s Motions in Limine Pursuant to Rules 401, 403, and 611(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence, the government moves to preclude Mr. Warnagiris from offering evidence relating to a variety topics. The Court discusses the government’s arguments in turn.

1. Specific Locations of Security Cameras in the U.S. Capitol The government asks the Court to preclude Mr. Warnagiris from eliciting testimony about the specific locations of U.S. Capitol Police surveillance cameras inside the Capitol building and on its grounds. See United States’ Motion in Limine Regarding Evidence About the Specific Locations of U.S. Capitol Police Surveillance Cameras [Dkt. No. 67]. At oral argument, counsel for Mr. Warnagiris represented that he did not oppose the government’s motion and that he would not seek to introduce any evidence about specific locations of Capitol police surveillance cameras. The government’s unopposed motion therefore is granted.

2. Secret Service Witnesses To establish that the Capitol was a “restricted building or grounds” on January 6, 2021, the government states that it intends to call at trial a witness from the U.S. Secret Service, and the government argues that the Court should limit Mr. Warnagiris’s cross-examination of the Secret Service witness on the Secret Service’s specific tactics and emergency operations. See

U.S.S.S. Mot. at 2; see also United States v. Baez, 2023 WL 6364648, at *5-6. The government seeks to limit Mr. Warnagiris’s cross-examination of Secret Service witnesses specifically on the following topics:

1. Secret Service protocols for when emergencies occur, including those related to the locations where protectees or their motorcades are taken at the Capitol; and

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