Capitol Suspect’s Parents Subpoenaed to Face Grand Jury

Federal prosecutors in the case of a man charged with barging into the Capitol last month and killing two police officers tried to force the man’s parents to appear before a grand jury, a lawyer for the family said Wednesday.

Russell Eugene Weston Jr.’s parents were ordered to appear today in federal court, where a grand jury could indict their son for murder. The family immediately hired lawyers to fight the subpoenas, said Henry Asvill, who represents Weston’s father.

“No parent wants to testify in a matter pertaining to their son,” Asvill said. Weston’s parents say they don’t object to testifying at a later date but were startled at the subpoena coming Tuesday, just as they made their first contact with their son since the July 24 shootings, Asvill said.

Weston is shackled to his hospital bed and is under heavy police guard.