Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
- A former California police chief requested to represent himself as he faces charges related to Jan. 6.
- A US District Judge said he would allow Alan Hostetter to defend himself but offered a warning.
- Judge Royce Lamberth said those who represent themselves have "a fool for a client."
A former California police chief with alleged ties to a far-right militia group requested to represent himself on Thursday against felony charges stemming from the January 6 Capitol riot.
Alan Hostetter, 56, former police chief in La Habra, California, was indicted in June. Prosecutors allege Hostetter is one of six California men charged in connection to the riot who have ties to the extremist group known as the Three Percenters.
The group takes its name from the myth that only three percent of colonists took up arms during the Revolutionary War.
In court on Thursday, Hostetter requested to defend himself, telling US District Judge Royce Lamberth that he wants to expose what he called the "corruption of this investigation," referring to the vast FBI probe into the attack, according to Reuters.
Lamberth reportedly responded to Hostetter's request by proclaiming that those who represent themselves in court have "a fool for a client." But the judge said he would allow Hostetter the opportunity to represent himself after he received an affidavit from the defendant.
Prosecutors allege that Hostetter, in addition to having ties to the Three Percenters, also started his own far-right group called the American Phoenix Project, which put on anti-COVID lockdown protests and backed former President Donald Trump's election fraud lies following the 2020 vote.
According to court documents, the group became a way to advocate for violence against government leaders.
An attorney listed for Hostetter did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Earlier this week, a Capitol riot defendant admitted to two new felonies while representing himself.
Nearly 700 people have been charged in connection with the deadly Capitol attack, and almost 100 have now pleaded guilty.
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