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.

A prominent conservative attorney representing more than a dozen defendants charged in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol is seriously ill and hasn’t been able to appear in court.

In this screen grab from live stream video, Kyle Rittenhouse, left, appears with his attorney, Mark Richards during a hearing at Kenosha County Court in Kenosha, Wis., on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020. Thursday's ruling by Kenosha County Circuit Court Commissioner Loren Keating came after a contentious hearing during which Rittenhouse's attorney sought to show that the teen had acted in self-defense. Pierce has also worked to help secure the $2 million bail for Rittenhouse, who was bound over Thursday for trial. He said that Wisconsin attorney Mark Richards will handle the criminal case. A Kenosha County court commissioner on Thursday found probable cause to proceed with the case and rejected a defense motion to dismiss a reckless endangerment and gun charge against Rittenhouse.

In his afternoon ruling that rejected Kyle Rittenhouse’s bid to remain in Illinois, Judge Paul Novak noted that defense attorneys had characterized the Wisconsin charges as politically motivated. “This Illinois court shall not examine any potential political impact a Wisconsin District Attorney potentially considered in his charging decision,” Novak’s six-page ruling said. The ruling and speedy transfer came several hours after a hearing Friday morning in which Judge Novak heard arguments for and against extradition. Without witnesses from either side, the part of Friday's hearing meant for evidence and testimony lasted less than 30 seconds, when Scheller handed the judge Illinois Gov. The newspaper also said Rittenhouse told police the rifle used in the shooting was in the trunk of a friend's car.

One of Rittenhouse's attorneys, John Pierce, made clear that he is opposing Rittenhouse's return to Wisconsin to face the charges. J.B. Pritzker had signed a warrant to return Rittenhouse to Wisconsin after a request from Wisconsin Gov. It also could force prosecutors to provide more details about their case against Rittenhouse in support of extradition, he said. Rittenhouse’s extradition would not be an issue if he had been arrested in Kenosha the night of the shootings. A big boost came last month when Pierce defended Rittenhouse in an interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson.

A lawyer representing a 17-year-old charged with shooting three people during a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, has resigned from his position with a defense fund that has raked in more than $700,000 to defend his client and conservative causes. Pierce said he resigned from the #FightBack Foundation fund, which has raised money to defend Rittenhouse, to avoid any “appearance of conflict," USA Today reported. Pierce and his firm, Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht, have been accused of defaulting on millions of dollars owed to investors, according to court documents. Pierce and Lin Wood, another attorney who has taken up high-profile cases championed by conservatives, started the fund in early August. Wood, who now controls the foundation, said Pierce would be reimbursed for his work defending Rittenhouse.