A previous version of this story referred to the 53-count indictment, but Morss himself only faces 11.
Some of the worst offenders in the Jan. 6 insurrection are finally having the bill come due for their misdeeds in and around the Capitol. On Friday, for instance, Robert Palmer, who assaulted several Capitol Police officers, was sentenced to five years in federal prison, the longest for an insurrectionist to date.
Well, it looks like one of these particularly bad actors didn’t get the memo. A former substitute teacher from the Pittsburgh suburbs actually had the guts to try to get out on bail pending trial, even though he’s facing a whopping 11 counts related to his misdeeds in the Capitol. He got turned down cold, and is staying in jail.
Robert Morss of Glenshaw, north of Pittsburgh, was arrested in June and indicted on a host of charges including robbery, assaulting officers, obstructing an official proceeding, and civil disorder. In so doing, he more than likely torpedoed his career as a teacher. He’d been a substitute teacher in the Shaler Area School District since his graduation from Penn State in 2020. Before then, he’d been an Army Ranger, serving three tours in Afghanistan.
According to an affidavit, Morss was part of the crowd that pushed its way through a fence line of police, then made an unsuccessful attempt to steal an officer’s baton. Later, prosecutors say he helped other “patriots” rip away a section of fence, then took a shield from another and led other thugs in forming a “shield wall” to push their way through a tunnel in the Capitol. He also accused officers of “betray(ing) your own people” and reminded them that “this is our Capitol” and “we are going to take our Capitol back.”
On Friday, Morss appeared before federal district judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, and lobbied for his release.
In a motion for release, he and his lawyers maintain that he has been subjected to poor treatment in jail and cited his military service, his lack of criminal record, a pending job in the Washington area and an offer of a place to live with a fellow veteran as reasons to let him go.
Hogwash, said federal prosecutor Melissa Jackson. She claimed that Morss was one of the ringleaders of the insurrection, and has shown no remorse for his actions, as evidenced by his own words.
Ms. Jackson also said Mr. Morss has shown no regrets, citing a speech he wrote that agents found on his iCloud account. The speech is undated, but Mr. Morss labeled it "should I have to appeal before a judge what I am gonna say."
In the speech, he wrote, "You ask if I regret my involvement and what happened on the sixth my answer is [a] resounding no."
He goes on to denounce Congress, saying, "that capitol building isn't a temple at all it's a theater where soothsayers and charlatans strip the American people of their rights. We don't need Trump anymore. The people across the political spectrum and from sea to shining sea have woken up to the long train of abuses that this twisted body of government has done."
This, Jackson said, proved that Morss was “a danger to the community at large” and to law enforcement—and was too dangerous to be allowed out of prison. McFadden agreed, and kept Morss in jail.
This is at least the second time that Morss’ own words have kept him locked up. In July, a judge noted that Morss appeared to have used his battlefield experience to become a “leader and instigator” in the insurrection. But most damningly, the judge noted that the FBI had searched Morss’ notebook and found a detailed plan to create a militia in his hometown.
Morss presently faces up to 48 years in prison if convicted on all charges, though federal sentencing guidelines call for five to seven years. But given that he used his military training, something tells me he could face substantial upward departure at sentencing—even if he has the good sense to plead guilty. Given that he actually thought he could get out on bail, it’s apparent he really doesn’t know or understand that he is in real trouble.