Topekan Will Pope's Jan. 6 trial delayed after Supreme Court decision

A former Topeka City Council candidate whose federal criminal trial was set to start later this month on charges connected to the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol has had his case delayed following a U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Will Pope had been set to go to trial starting July 22 on multiple charges, including obstructing or impeding an official proceeding. But the trial is now on hold after the Supreme Court ordered a new review of the law behind obstruction charges filed against hundreds of defendants prosecuted for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.

Supreme Court decision means trial delay for Topekan

The high court in June sent a case back to an appellate court to narrow the interpretation of how the obstruction law applies to Jan. 6 cases.

After that decision, federal prosecutors and Pope asked the judge to postpone the trial. The July 22 date will now be a status conference, and all pretrial deadlines are vacated.

"Both parties are evaluating the decision, which has ramifications for the charges, presentation of evidence, and jury instructions at the trial in this matter," they wrote in a motion.

While the full effect of the Supreme Court decision is yet to be determined, obstruction isn't the only charge Pope faces.

Will Pope indicted on seven charges connected to Jan. 6

Pope and his brother, Michael Pope, of Idaho, were originally charged by federal prosecutors before they were indicted by a grand jury. The seven charges are as follows:

• 18 U.S.C. 1512(c)(2)- Obstructing or Impeding Any Official Proceeding.
• 18 U.S.C. 231(a)(3)- Civil Disorder.
• 18 U.S.C. 1752(a)(1)- Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds.
• 18 U.S.C. 1752(a)(2)- Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds.
• 40 U.S.C. 5104(e)(2)(D)- Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building.
• 40 U.S.C. 5104(e)(2)(E)- Impeding Passage Through the Capitol Grounds or Buildings.
• 40 U.S.C. 5104(e)(2)(G)- Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building.

Will Pope turned himself in to FBI after Jan. 6

Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent Clay Chase outlined the allegations against the Pope brothers in an affidavit.

The FBI alleged that Will Pope recorded himself and his brother on a Facebook live video as they marched on the Capitol in Washington, D.C. At the time, Congress was meeting to certify the vote count of the Electoral College in the 2020 presidential election.

TV news footage showed Pope in Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol during the riot, which caused the suspension of the joint session of Congress and the evacuation of the chambers. Another video showed Pope being restrained at one point by an officer with U.S. Capitol Police.

The officer who restrained Pope told investigators that he remembered him in part because of Pope's "passive resistance" when the officer attempted to stop him from entering the Capitol. He also said Pope blocked law enforcement from closing the door as they attempted to prevent more rioters from entering, despite repeated verbal orders for Pope to leave and an attempt to physically push him out of the building.

The FBI said that surveillance video appears to show Pope hit a door with a flag pole before attempting to force it open. The door was to the Speaker of the House's offices.

Six days after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, Pope turned himself in to the FBI via an online tip system.

"I would like to turn myself in," Pope wrote in the message. "I was in the Capitol on January 6. I did not damage any property or engage in any violence. I am loyal to the United States and was only there to exercise my freedom of speech. I left the building voluntarily."

He also sent a photo of himself from that day in which he was holding an American flag.

The FBI later interviewed Pope, who admitted to entering the Capitol building. He said he went in to express concern about the direction of the nation, and he questioned the results of the election.

Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.