May trial date set for Cleveland, Tennessee, man charged in Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach

U.S. Department of Justice / Joseph “Jose” Lino Padilla, of Cleveland, Tenn. Padilla face multiple charges in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

By Ben Benton October 17, 2022 6 min read

A trial date has been set for May 1 for the Cleveland, Tennessee, man charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, breach at the U.S. Capitol following a hearing Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

Joseph Lino “Jose” Padilla, 42, has been detained in a Washington jail for the past 20 months as his case has been dogged with delays, and U.S. District Judge John D. Bates on Monday put a motion schedule in place and carved out a week for Padilla’s trial.

Bates, who has become increasingly impatient with progress in the case, set a status hearing for March 1 to discuss resolutions to any motions from Padilla’s attorney, Michael Cronkright, or Douglas Brasher, the prosecutor in the case for the U.S. government.

Brasher told Bates the government was ready to proceed with the case but Cronkright said there were some issues to deal with first, including the possibility of reaching an early resolution to the case with a plea. Padilla’s attorney is to inform Bates by Dec. 1 of his intentions.