DiMassimo also was ordered to pay a $250 fine and his electronic home detention was taken off.
EARLIER (July 18):
Thomas DiMassimo admitted violating a condition of his pretrial release, but a federal judge didn’t revoke his bond and also warned him, “You’re not going to Cleveland.”
DiMassimo, 22, was charged with a federal misdemeanor for illegally entering a “cordoned off and otherwise restricted area where a person protected by the Secret Service was temporarily visiting” when he jumped a barrier and rushed the stage March 12 during a Donald Trump rally at Dayton International Airport.
At a Monday hearing in Dayton’s U.S. District Court, DiMassimo told pretrial services he was visiting an academic advisor on July 11 when the electronic monitoring company notified authorities of an unexcused absence from 12:47 p.m. until 1:38 p.m.
U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Sharon Ovington had earlier denied DiMassimo’s request to leave the Southern District of Ohio so he could protest at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.
Ovington reiterated that Monday, saying, “Know it’s not going to happen,” to which DiMassimo replied, “Gotcha.”
Defense attorney Jon Paul Rion told Ovington that there was a misunderstanding about whether DiMassimo needed approval prior to leaving his residence for school-related reasons.
Rion said that now that DiMassimo and pretrial services have talked about the details of his electronic monitoring, his client will follow the rules. Otherwise, DiMassimo could be taken into custody.
A docket entry from July 6 indicated that DiMassimo admitted violating the conditions of his bond, and that he was to be remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals until a land-line phone was installed for home detention purposes. The court also added conditions to his bond such as a 24-hour lock down, a seven-county travel restriction and a mental health evaluation if one was ordered by pretrial services.
Ovington has previously instructed attorneys for both sides not to speak to media about the case until it is resolved.
DiMassimo’s trial date has been pushed back a couple times and is currently scheduled for Aug. 29. The Wright State University senior acting major faces maximum penalties of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. Rion has said probation is the likely outcome no matter the plea.
Rion also has said the federal statute at odds is seldom used, has been modified several times and that the government may want to make an example out of DiMassimo.
“Part of the idea is that proceeding here hopefully people who see that we are bringing this case are going to stop and think, ‘Hey, whether I’m attending a campaign rally in support of a candidate or to protest that candidate, let’s do it safely and according to the rules.’ ” Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District Of Ohio Benjamin C. Glassman said in March.
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