SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah man accused of crimes at the U.S. Capitol insurrection in January says an FBI agent didn’t read him his rights.
WATCH: Sullivan writes book while under house arrest for Capitol riot involvement
A lawyer for John E. Sullivan filed a motion Thursday asking a judge to suppress his client’s Jan. 11 interview with the FBI agent in Salt Lake City. The motion claims the agent did not read Sullivan his Miranda rights before questioning about his activities five days earlier at the U.S. Capitol.
Among the questions the agent asked, according to the motion, was whether Sullivan had a knife on Jan. 6. Sullivan answered no, court filings say, even though he’s heard on audio recordings from inside the Capitol telling others he had a knife. The FBI agent described the interview as voluntary.
READ: Utah's John Sullivan avoids social media ban following Capitol riot involvement
A grand jury later indicted Sullivan with a felony count of lying to federal agents as well as a count of carrying a weapon into a restricted building and other crimes related to the insurrection itself. Sullivan has pleaded not guilty.
Sullivan is the founder of Insurgence USA, an activist group formed after the killing of George Floyd. Sullivan has claimed he went to the Capitol and followed rioters inside to document what was transpiring.
