FILE - Rioters wave flags on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Federal prosecutors say a network of supporters has helped fugitives from Florida avoid capture to face charges stemming from the riot. Prosecutors argued Thursday, March 14, 2024, that a Jan. 6 defendant, Thomas Osborne, is a flight risk because he is close to the family of a brother and sister from Lakeland, Fla. who remained on the run for months after they were charged with storming the Capitol.Photo by Jose Luis Magana/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Prosecutors: A 'network' of supporters helped fugitives avoid capture after Capitol riot

by · National Post

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Florida man charged with interfering with police during the Jan. 6, 2021, siege at the U.S. Capitol is connected to a “network” of supporters who have helped other Capitol riot defendants avoid capture by the FBI, prosecutors said in a court filing this week.

A federal judge on Thursday ordered Thomas Paul Osborne to be released from a Florida jail while he awaits trial on charges that he grabbed a police officer’s baton during a mob’s attack on the Capitol. Before the judge ruled, a Justice Department prosecutor argued that Osborne poses a risk of fleeing after his Feb. 22 arrest.