With President-elect Donald Trump’s second term on the horizon, a Jan. 6 defendant from Harford County is anticipating more favorable circumstances and trying to buy time.

Brandon Keith Heffner’s federal case over allegations that he blocked police from leaving the U.S. Capitol building in early 2021 has been working its way through the legal system for nearly a year. After Trump’s election victory earlier this week, Heffner’s defense attorney Andrés Jalon on Thursday asked a federal judge to delay the case until Trump appoints a new U.S. attorney, who is all but certain to transform the Justice Department.

Heffner is charged with obstructing law enforcement during a civil disorder as well as misdemeanor offenses. He’s accused of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, according to a criminal complaint filed in Washington, D.C.

Trump pledged to pardon rioters during his second term, he said earlier in the summer during a panel discussion organized by the National Association of Black Journalists.

Heffner is not the only defendant asking for a delay. Other attorneys representing Jan. 6 defendants are making similar requests this week, according to the Washington Post.

The 38-year-old is one of more than 30 Marylanders charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with participating in the siege, according to a George Washington University legal tracker. Most of the cases have concluded with convictions or guilty pleas, though about a dozen, including Heffner’s, are still pending.

Prior to his arrest, Heffner was interviewed by FBI agents in November 2021 in a public parking lot, during which he told them he was a former member of the Proud Boys, an all-male, neo-fascist group. Heffner told investigators he was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but denied entering the building.

Heffner said his beard was too short to be the person dressed in black tactical gear, a helmet and a backpack who appeared alongside other rioters in video footage posted to the social media application Parler. Federal authorities said Heffner and others could be seen in the footage blocking an exterior door on the U.S. Capitol’s lower west terrace and holding it shut, preventing police from exiting to deploy tear gas.

“Spread the word,” another unnamed rioter said within the fray Heffner allegedly joined. “They’re trying to come out and tear gas.”

A confidential informant later told FBI agents on March 15, 2022, that Heffner is a chapter leader for the Maryland/District of Columbia Proud Boys. The informant identified Heffner as the individual in the photographs.

Federal authorities noted they arrested Heffner earlier on Dec. 12, 2020, in Washington, D.C., related to the assault of a police officer, during which time the suspect was wearing a black tactical vest, black helmet and a much longer beard. Supporters of then-President Trump, including members of the Proud Boys, clashed with counterprotesters that day in D.C.

Heffner’s attorney said Thursday his client was not the person behind the assault and that Metropolitan Police later dropped the charge.

Clarification: This story was updated to clarify that charges against Heffner stemming from a 2020 arrest were later dropped.