Brooklyn Literary Agent Charged With Stalking Is US Guest Overnight, Says Nuance Is Missing
Inner City Press was alone in the SDNY Magistrates Court gallery for the two hour proceeding, which culminated in a loud banging of the defense table as the Marshals led Weronika Janczuk away
By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell Book
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN
SDNY COURTROOM EXCLUSIVE, Jan 10 – A Brooklyn-based literary agent was arrested on January 11 for cyber-stalking.
At 7 pm that night she was told she would be a "guest of the government" overnight, until she can be fitted with a location monitoring GPS bracelet.
She slammed the table and was led into the holding cell by two U.S. Marshals.
This took place after a two hour long proceeding in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Magistrates Court, with this Inner City Press reporter the only person in the courtroom gallery.
Magistrate Judge Barbara C. Moses twice summoned Pre-Trial Services out of the courtroom to discuss the case off the record. Pre-Trial Services was recommending that the literary agent, Weronika Janczuk, be held in detention pending trial.
The Assistant US Attorney described Janczuk as cyber-stalking a victim he left unnamed, and the victim's family members and place of work, which he described as an investment firm / law firm.
The US Attorney's Office was agreeable to release on $50,000 bond, but wanted home confinement as well as the GPS monitoring, and monitoring of Janczuk's Internet usage and accounts.
It emerged that Pre-Trial Services will not monitor accounts but only devices, and only desktop and laptop computers at that. Judge Moses ordered that Janczuk winnow her four e-mail accounts down to one, then revised that to two accounts: one personal and one professional.
Janczuk was found elibigle for a publicly-funded Federal Defender. She listed her income as zero, but said she draws $6000 a month from an inheritance.
The Federal Defender proposed that the $50,000 bond be secured by $5000 in cash.
Judge Moses asked about co-signers for the bond: relatives? The Federal Defender replied that there are two siblings but one is not in contact and the other is overseas.
It was said that Janczuk has two passports. One from Poland, which is a mandatory consular notification state, and the other from Canada, to which notice of the Federal arrest of their citizens is optional. (Inner City Press is also covering the SDNY criminal case against Canadian citizen Peter Nygard.)
Janczuk is depicted taking part in a United Nations event in 2016.
The AUSA described Janczuk as having driving to New York from Minnesota at 107 miles an hour, then going to Washington DC when the victims brother, in from the UK, was there. Janczuk, speaking for herself, said that there was more nuance to the narrative.
When it came time for Judge Moses' decision, jail or bail, release on bond was agreed to, but with the GPS bracelet. It was too late to have it installed so Judge Moses told Ms. Janczuk, Tonight you will be the guest of the government until the bracelet can be installed tomorrow The Federal Defender pushed back, citing COVID in the jails.
Judge Moses asked, Is she vaccinated? (Earlier she had instructed Janczuk to raise up her mask over her nose.)
Yes, the answer came. But there might be a problem getting her returned to the courthouse the next morning. The Marshals said, if the prosecutors email them, it will be done. They began to lead Janczuk away.
There was a loud bang as Janczuk hit the defense table. The Marshals restrained and ushered her out. They asked the Federal Defender to come as well, but to be sure to leave her phone in the courtroom. The deputy went back to inform Judge Moses of what happened.
Only two days prior, Janczuk had been tweeting photos of a Polish restaurant in Brooklyn. Other of her accounts have been removed (for example, "weronikajanczuk.wordpress.com is no longer available. The authors have deleted this site") but still online is an article, "Cyber-stalking does not get you agents and editors." The allegation did, however, give rise to this arrest and detention.
The case is US v. Janczuk, 21-mj-10885 (Moses).
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