U.S. Chief Judge Michael Davis on Wednesday ordered that two Texas men accused of making Molotov cocktails during the Republican National Convention be held without bail, reversing a federal magistrate's ruling from the day before.
On Tuesday, Magistrate Judge Franklin Noel said David McKay, 22, and Bradley Crowder, 23, could go home to Texas while they await a grand jury's decision on whether to indict them. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Anders Folk immediately sought Davis' intervention.
During a hearing Wednesday, Folk said that video and photographic evidence from the week of the convention shows the men are potentially dangerous.
Defense attorneys argued that the prosecution offered no new evidence to show that Crowder and McKay are a danger or a risk to flee.
Davis said there are no conditions that he could impose that would ensure that McKay and Crowder would appear to face charges. So he ordered them held.
After the hearing, McKay's father, Michel, said: "I'm floored. I just don't understand." It will be at least a couple of weeks before a grand jury considers an indictment, McKay's attorney, Jeff DeGree, said.
Katherian Roe, a federal public defender representing Crowder, was asked what she thought prompted Davis' reversal. "Difference of opinion," she said. "He's the chief judge. He gets to make that decision."
James Walsh • 612-673-7428
