The lawyer for accused neo-Nazi Patrik Mathews will be back in court Jan. 12 to try to convince a Maryland judge to drop weapons charges against the former Canadian Forces reservist.
In a series of motions filed in Maryland District Court this week, lawyer Joseph Balter argues that two of the four charges against his client are redundant, and that a number of warrants issued in the case are unconstitutional.
Prosecutors, defence lawyers and District Judge Theodore Chuang gathered today via conference call to set deadlines for the government's response to the motions and to set a hearing date.
Mathews, a former combat engineer, vanished from Beausejour, Man., last year following media reports alleging he was a recruiter for a white-supremacist group known as The Base.
He faces two counts each of being an alien in possession of a firearm, and transporting a firearm with intent to commit a felony.
Balter has also asked the court to allow his client to be tried separately from his two co-accused, Brian Lemley Jr. and William Bilbrough, on the grounds that it will otherwise be difficult for Mathews to get a fair trial.