WASHINGTON, D.C. – An Edgewater man accused of being involved in the riot at the U.S. Capitol did not show up for court at his two most recent hearings, prompting a judge to approve an arrest warrant.
FBI agents arrested Howard Adams in March 2021 after someone recognized him in footage from Jan. 6 that was shown on Inside Edition, which airs nightly on WKMG-TV.
Recommended Videos
[TRENDING: Owner pulls the plug on Orlando’s last RadioShack after 52 years in business | ‘Never been done before:’ News 6 investigation helps lead to arrest of gas pump manipulators | Become a News 6 Insider]
The clip showed a man, identified as Adams, entering the Capitol building on Jan. 6 screaming and carrying a flag.
Investigators said agents then used surveillance cameras to map where he went inside the building. At one point, he was pictured with a large group of others confronting a member of law enforcement.
According to court documents, Adams has declared himself a sovereign citizen, and he has fired his public defenders opting to represent himself in federal court.
On Aug. 14, he wrote a letter to Judge Emmet G. Sullivan and stated, “The Most High God created I, Howard Berton Adams, Jr., a sovereign man, living as the flesh and blood testifies, I am not a dead entity, I am not a ward of the state. I am not a pauper.”
Adams also claimed the federal government was a for-profit corporation.
“I do not consent to being governed by the United States of America, Inc.,” the letter stated.
On Nov. 10, Adams failed to appear in federal court for a hearing on pending motions.
“(The) parties (were) directed to inform the defendant of the new hearing date and the consequences should he fail to appear,” according to the federal court docket.
On Nov. 14, he responded to prosecutors with an email titled, “Rejection of Offer to Contract.”
On Thursday, Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell denied all motions to dismiss.
" The motion asserts that the U.S. government is a ‘for-profit corporation,’ based on a flawed reading of a few cherry-picked cases, making the U.S. statutes defendant is accused of violating mere ‘corporate bylaws,’” Howell wrote.
“(The) defendant’s motion is entirely frivolous,” he continued. “(The) defendant does not dispute that he was in the United States -- in fact, in the Nation’s Capital city, Washington, D.C.”
Howell approved prosecutors crafting an arrest warrant for Adams.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily:
