The attorney for a Colorado man accused of taking a Capitol police officer’s baton and helping drag another officer down the building’s steps has asked the court to reconsider granting him pretrial release.

The attorney claimed in a motion filed Monday that prosecutors “distort[ed] the trust, misrepresent[ed] facts, and [relied] on the actions of co-defendants on January 6, 2021 to compensate for its inability to demonstrate that defendant should be detained.”

Jeffrey Sabol, 51, of Indian Hills came to the Capitol on Jan. 6 in tactical gear and carrying zip ties in his bag, prosecutors said. He faces eight charges, including trespassing, disorderly conduct and violence with a dangerous weapon, assaulting, resisting or impeding officers and two counts of civil disorder.

Senior Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington federal district court denied Sabol bail on April 8. He wrote evidence of Sabol’s previous planning and intent in his actions suggest “he was not just caught up in the frenzy of the crowd, but instead came to Washington, D.C. with the intention of causing mayhem and disrupting the democratic process.”

But Sabol’s attorney, Alex Cirocco, argued in Monday’s motion that new video evidence weighs in favor of his release.

Sabol never used the officer’s baton as a weapon, Cirocco argues, and the motion refutes claims by prosecutors that he held it to another officer’s neck.

He says prosecutors have relied on one photo showing Sabol holding the baton over the body of the officer dragged down the steps, identified as B.M. in court papers.

Cirocco argues video footage from earlier in the afternoon shows Sabol waving his hands to call off violence, which the motion claims “clearly show[s] that defendant did not come to the U.S. Capitol with the intent to harm or injure Officers.”

“The Government’s constant references to defendant being methodical and premediated on January 6 could not be further from the truth. The Government’s entire case is based on a 20 second video clip where defendant disarms Officer A.W. of his baton,” Cirocco argues.

Body-camera footage shows Sabol’s co-defendant, Jack Wade Whitton, acted as the main aggressor in pulling that officer down the lower western terrace steps of the Capitol, and Sabol left the steps immediately after the incident, the motion claims.

In his April memo denying Sabol’s release, Sullivan also wrote he poses a continued danger to the public based on his willingness to act violently on his beliefs “and in a perceived battle against tyranny.”

Previous records in Sabol’s case suggest he attempted to fly to Switzerland shortly after Jan. 6. Law enforcement found an electronic plane ticket from Boston to Switzerland in Sabol’s car.

But Sabol’s attorney says the government hasn’t identified any concrete public safety threat posed by Sabol’s release. Since the former Donald Trump’s presidency to President Joe Biden’s administration has occurred, Cirocco argues no threat remains to disrupting the election or transfer of power.

Cirocco also points to a few other defendants accused of more violent actions than Sabol the day of the riot but whom judges granted pretrial release. Similar to Sabol, these defendants also had no felony convictions, if any criminal history at all, before Jan. 6 or ties to extremist groups, Cirocco argues.

The motion requests Sabol’s release to his mother and father under conditions including curfew and GPS monitoring. If the court again denies Sabol’s release, the motion argues for him to have access to a laptop from his jail cell to review evidence and assist in his defense.