A detention hearing for George Tanios, a Morgantown business owner recently charged for taking part in the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, has been delayed.
Tanios is being held in Central Regional Jail in Flatwoods. He has been there since he was arrested at his home Sunday. On Monday, Tanios appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Aloi, who informed him the government requested his temporary detention until a hearing could be held. Aloi also granted that request.
The detention hearing was scheduled for Thursday morning. On Tuesday, one of Tanios’ attorneys, federal public defender Elizabeth Gross, requested on his behalf the hearing be moved to Monday so she could have time to meet with Tanios and effectively prepare for the hearing. Aloi granted the request through a paperless order.
Tanios, 39, and Julian Khater, 32, who the government said grew up with Tanios in New Jersey, are each charged with nine counts. They are: conspiracy to injure an officer; three counts of assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon; civil disorder; obstructing or impeding an official proceeding; physical violence on restricted grounds, while carrying a dangerous weapon and resulting in significant bodily injury; violent entry and disorderly conduct; act of physical violence on Capitol grounds.
In its investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation found a social media video the agency says shows Khater pulling a can of bear mace from a backpack carried by Tanios and using it against three police officers a short time later. One of them was Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died the day after the riot.
The charging document against Tanios does not link the use of the bear spray to Sicknick’s death. It does state Sicknick and the other officers were temporarily blinded and required medical attention. One officer reported still having scabs under her eyes for weeks.
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