The lawyer for accused neo-Nazi Patrik Mathews will be back in court Jan. 12 to try to convince a Maryland judge to drop weapons charges against the former Canadian Forces reservist.
In a series of motions filed in Maryland District Court this week, lawyer Joseph Balter argues that two of the four charges against his client are redundant, and that a number of warrants issued in the case are unconstitutional.
Patrik Mathews is seen in an undated RCMP handout photo.HO/The Canadian Press
Prosecutors, defence lawyers and District Judge Theodore Chuang gathered today via conference call to set deadlines for the government’s response to the motions and to set a hearing date.
Mathews, a former combat engineer, vanished from Beausejour, Man., last year following media reports alleging he was a recruiter for a white-supremacist group known as The Base.
He faces two counts each of being an alien in possession of a firearm, and transporting a firearm with intent to commit a felony.
Balter has also asked the court to allow his client to be tried separately from his two co-accused, Brian Lemley Jr. and William Bilbrough, on the grounds that it will otherwise be difficult for Mathews to get a fair trial.
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