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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowAn Indianapolis lawyer has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges stemming from his alleged involvement with the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
Quentin G. Cantrell entered the plea during a virtual arraignment Wednesday before Judge Trevor McFadden of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. One of his co-defendants, Eric Cantrell, also pleaded not guilty.
Quentin and Eric Cantrell, along with a relative named Jared — collectively known in court documents as the “Cantrell Cousins” — were arrested last month and were charged in an information with misdemeanor counts of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
Quentin’s status on the Indiana Roll of Attorneys is listed as active in good standing, although no contact information has been provided. His LinkedIn profile indicates he most recently worked as of counsel at Woodard Emhardt Henry Reeves & Wagner LLP in Indianapolis, but he is no longer listed on the firm’s website.
Court documents allege the Cantrell cousins were at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob entered the building and attempted to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
A 20-page statement of facts says witnesses identified the trio from closed-circuit TV footage and social media posts Jared created that day. Additionally, cellphone records place Quentin in the geographic area of the Capitol building at around 2:39 p.m. on the day of the riot.
The video footage allegedly shows the cousins entering the Capitol through the Upper West Terrace entrance at about 2:37 p.m. on Jan. 6. Eric and Quentin left the building about two minutes later, according to court documents.
Both Quentin and Eric waived a formal reading of the information and entered their not guilty pleas via their counsel — David Issa of Houston for Quentin and David Hensel of Indianapolis for Eric.
Jared, however, did not appear at Wednesday’s virtual hearing. His lawyer, Peter Cooper of Washington, D.C., said he did not know why his client was absent and asked for time to work with pretrial services to contact him.
The government, represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Prout, asked for a bench warrant if Jared could not be located and brought before the court by the end of the day Wednesday.
McFadden, however, said it was “not abundantly clear” to him that Jared had notice of Wednesday’s hearing, so he moved his arraignment to May 4.
Also, Trout asked for additional conditions to be imposed on the terms of Jared’s pretrial release because his most recent pretrial compliance report showed levels of marijuana and cocaine in his system. McFadden did not rule on that request Wednesday.
The judge scheduled the next status conference for 9:30 a.m. on July 1. He asked that all defendant-specific discovery be turned over by then, and that any plea discussions be held by then. He said he wanted to set trial dates, if necessary, at the July 1 conference.
Before ending Wednesday’s hearing, McFadden advised Quentin and Eric to continue complying with the terms of their pretrial release, as he would take that compliance into consideration during sentencing.
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