Judge rejects Trump's 'inflammatory allegations' claim in Jan. 6 election subversion indictment

A federal judge on Friday denied Donald Trump‘s request to strike so-called “inflammatory allegations” about the events at the Capitol on Jan. 6 from his criminal indictment in Washington, D.C., saying he failed to prove his claim while “making several accusatory and unsupported comments” on his own.

The bar to strike language deemed inflammatory “surplusage” by a criminal defendant is high, presiding U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan explained in the brief 3-page order.

To reach it, there must be ample evidence provided. In Trump’s bid to dilute the language of his indictment for allegedly criminally conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election, he failed to reach that bar.