Brody's Notes... Arizona Shooter Ordered Held Without Bail

Jared Lee Loughner  Booking Photo via Pima County, Arizona, Sheriff's Office

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) JAN 10 | The suspect in the attempted assassination of U. S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, which left her and 14 others gravely injured as well as six dead including U. S. District Chief Judge John Roll, appeared in federal court today in Phoenix, Arizona.

Jared L. Loughner, his head shaved bare and his hands and feet in restraints, was escorted into the federal courtroom, by heavily armed U. S. Marshals under tight security. Loughner agreed not to contest his continued imprisonment but offered no indication on whether he will contest the murder and attempted murder charges regarding Saturday's Tucson shootings.

Courtroom observers noted that he confirmed his identity telling U. S. Magistrate Lawrence Anderson: “Yes, I am Jared Lee Loughner." Observers stated that during the hearing, Loughner staring blankly ahead with his lawyer, Judy Clarke, a veteran federal public defender, next to him. Loughner appeared to be wide-eyed and appeared to have had a wound above his his right temple. At one point, it appeared that he was smirking.

His attorney signaled that she intends to push for the case to be moved out of Arizona, since one of the victims her client is accused of killing was Judge Roll of the Federal District Court in Tucson, and all of the federal judges in there have recused themselves as a result. Ms. Clarke told the court that she had “great concern” about any Arizona judges or prosecutors handling this case.

Loughner faces two federal murder charges and three attempted murder charges in an attack Deputy United States Attorney Wallace H. Kleindienst described as an assassination attempt on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Loughner, dressed in beige prison garb, a white T-shirt and blue slip-on shoes, agreed not to challenge his continued detention without bail after Kleindienst labeled him a danger and a flight risk. That prompted the judge to quickly rule, based on the serious charges, that he was “a danger to the community” and would be held without bail.