Federal judge mocks January 6 rioter for asking permission to attend a corporate retreat in Cabo, calling it a 'boondoggle'

• A federal judge mocked an accused Capitol rioter for asking to go on a corporate retreat to Mexico.
• DC district court Judge Beryl A. Howell called Jason Owens' request a "boondoggle."

Judge Beryl A. Howell emphatically rejected Jason Owens' request to attend a five-day corporate getaway in Cabo San Lucas, pointing out that the accused Capitol rioter needs to hold off on traveling abroad until he faces charges that he assaulted a police officer on January 6, 2021.

"While the Court does not begrudge defendant's apparent business success while on pretrial release, his international travel to harvest the bounties of such success will need to wait until he is no longer facing felony charges arising from ill-advised domestic travel in January 2021," Howell, the chief judge on Washington DC's district court, wrote in her order.

Howell seemed none too pleased with the fact that Owens did not ask for her permission to OK the trip, a condition of his pre-trial release, until after he already booked flights for himself and his wife. Owens' attorney also described the travel as a "corporate meeting," a claim that Howell seemed to take particular issue with. The judge emphasized that the trip seemed to be little more than a sales perk offered by Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, Owens' employer.

Howell, an Obama appointee, wrote that Owens "furnish[ed] such business-critical data as his t-shirt and shoe sizes ('Mens L" and "Mens 10 1/2'), favorite color ('Blue'), willingness to receive delivered alcoholic beverages ('Yes'), and special dietary request ('Vegan, but not too crazy strict')" to his company while making plans to go on the trip.

Pointing to Owens' lax approach to veganism, Howell added that Owens "seemingly assume[ed] this Court's approach to nonessential foreign travel by defendants facing federal felony charges would be, like defendant's adherence to veganism, 'not too crazy strict.'"

Federal prosecutors have alleged that Owens and his son, Grady, assaulted officers during the January 6, 2021 insurrection. Jason Owens is accused of shoving a DC Metropolitan Police Officer while Grady Owens is accused of swinging a skateboard near the head of another cop. Jason Owens faces a series of charges, the most serious of which is related to assaulting, resisting, or impeding an officer.

Howell has overseen a number of January 6-related cases. She has swiftly rejected other defendants' travel requests as well. She has also ripped federal prosecutors for not pressing for large enough fines on Capitol rioters.