The trial of a southwest Kansas man who held a state judge hostage last year has been delayed, reports The Garden City Telegram.
Last May, Garden City resident Jason Nichols kidnapped state judge Wendell Wurst from the 25th District, in a scheme to get the Kansas Department of Revenue to relieve his tax debt. The man entered Judge Wurst’s home, took the judge hostage, and attempted to get the judge to sign tax documents—an act that eventually led to a stand-off with a SWAT team.
Nichols’s trial was set to begin this week, but has now been pushed back to July. The man is charged with two counts of terrorism, two counts of kidnapping, one count of aggravated burglary, two counts of aggravated assault and one count of criminal threat. Nichols’s lawyer disputes the charges of terrorism.
