Sheriff: UP man charged in Capitol riot not a risk to public

CALUMET, Mich. (AP) - A Michigan sheriff is speaking up for an Upper Peninsula man who was charged in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Karl Dresch “stepped over the line” by going into the Capitol but he’s not a “dangerous man or dangerous to the community,” Houghton County Sheriff Brian McLean said in a letter filed in federal court in Washington.

Dresch’s lawyer is trying to get him released on bond.

Although firearms were found in Dresch’s home in Calumet, the sheriff said “nearly all homes here have weapons as we have a tremendous number of hunters and fishermen.”

Dresch, 40, has been in custody for more than two months after prosecutors said he might flee or obstruct justice if granted bond. He is charged with five crimes, including disorderly conduct in the Capitol and obstruction of Congress.

Two large Trump flags, one in red and another in blue, were stretched across the front of Dresch’s home at the time of his arrest. His late father, Stephen, was a dean at Michigan Technological University and a Republican state lawmaker in 1991-92.

Paul LaBine, a lawyer and mayor of Hancock, said he has represented Dresch in several matters.

“In spite of his history and flaws, he has managed to raise a family and conduct his own affairs and and stay out of trouble until this recent incident,” LaBine said in a court filing.