The Republic is reporting that an attorney representing a local man who has pleaded guilty to storming the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, has asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed against him by the District of Columbia over his role in the attack.

In a motion filed March 10 in US District Court in Washington, D.C., an attorney representing former Columbus resident and heavy metal musician Jon Schaffer asked to join a series of motions to dismiss the lawsuit and some responses from other defendants, stating that the arguments made in those filings “similarly apply” to Schaffer.

The responses and other motions were filed last year by fellow members of the far-right Oath Keepers, as well as members of other far-right groups such as the Proud Boys, including a Georgia man who has pleaded guilty to charges of seditious conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding related to the attack.

As of Friday afternoon, US District Judge Amit P. Mehta, who is presiding over the case, had not ruled on the merits of Schaffer’s request or the motions to dismiss the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed December 14, 2021, by attorneys representing the office of D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine, alleges that Schaffer and dozens of other defendants conspired to participate in the violent effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and injure former Vice President Mike Pence, according to court filings.

The District of Columbia further alleges that Schaffer and his co-defendants are liable for the damages and costs of dispatching hundreds of D.C. police officers to defend the US Capitol during the attack.

Read more at The Republic.