Overview
- A federal judge signed an order on Sept. 17 authorizing U.S. Marshals to use reasonable force and restraints to bring Eugene “Big U” Henley Jr. to Courtroom 6B after officials said he refused to leave his cell.
- The order requires deputies to read the directive to Henley, give him one final chance to come to court without force, and bars force if it would pose a medical risk.
- Thursday’s hearing dealt with an emergency motion from Henley’s lawyers to withdraw, a step they said was driven by the difficulty of handling more than 1.1 million pieces of evidence in the case.
- Henley has been jailed since his March 2025 arrest, was denied bail over concerns about obstruction and witness intimidation, and has pleaded not guilty to expanded racketeering-related counts; his trial is set for Feb. 16, 2027.
- By extending the marshal authorization to future proceedings the order gives authorities a standing tool to secure Henley’s courtroom attendance and could heighten pretrial conflict between detention conditions, defense preparation, and the court’s scheduling needs.