Four days after he got out of jail, a Capitol riot offender with a history of posting videos of himself encountering local officials at government buildings picked up where he left off.
This time Daniel Warmus’ encounter over the right to film inside the public areas of government buildings happened inside Erie County’s Rath Building.
Warmus’ Jan. 17 encounter there prompted the U.S. Probation Office to ask a federal judge on Friday to add to his probation conditions: that he be prohibited from recording videos in or around county, state or federal buildings and that he not record or post videos of public employees to social media accounts.
His lawyers called the request unprecedented.
“I’ve never seen it before,” said Nick Texido, who, with attorney Daniel J. DuBois, represents Warmus.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo, who is handling the petition to add the conditions, indicated Warmus did not violate any of his existing conditions.
“I’ve got concerns about Mr. Warmus’ First Amendment rights,” U.S. District Judge Lawrence Vilardo said of the request.
Warmus was fingerprinted and processed upon arriving at a hearing Friday at the Robert H. Jackson United States Courthouse in Buffalo, even though he had not violated any existing conditions of his probation.
The 39-year-old Alden resident and auto repair business owner became the first Capitol riot defendant from Western New York to be sentenced to jail on a misdemeanor riot charge. He was sentenced to 45 days in custody to be followed by 24 months of probation for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, when he was among the first wave of rioters to breach the U.S. Capitol. Warmus’ past videos were a factor that contributed to his punishment in that case.
One of his current conditions prohibits him from entering law enforcement property without the court’s permission.
Warmus posted a nearly hour-long video of his Jan. 17 visit to the Erie County government office building to his YouTube…
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