Jan. 6 lawyer who missed hearings says he’s out of hospital

WASHINGTON (AP) — A prominent conservative defense attorney whose disappearance from court stalled a slew of U.S. Capitol riot cases says he has been released from the hospital and is preparing to get back to work. Prosecutors had expressed concerns last week after John Pierce, who is representing more than a dozen people charged in the Jan. 6 riot, didn’t appear in court for several days. An associate — who is not licensed to practice law — was appearing before judges in Pierce’s absence. Pierce says he spent 12 days in the hospital before being released Sunday, and he expects to be “fully operational next week.”