At least four police officers from across the country were placed on administrative leave for allegedly attending the U.S. Capitol riots on Wednesday.
Two of those off-duty police officers from Rocky Mount, Virginia, who allegedly attended the Wednesday rally that turned into a deadly riot, were placed on administrative leave pending review, WSLS reported. The department also notified federal authorities.
“The Town of Rocky Mount fully supports all lawful expressions of freedom of speech and assembly by its employees but does not condone the unlawful acts that occurred that day,” the department said in a press release Sunday.
In Seattle, at least two officers from its police department have been placed on administrative leave while the Seattle Police Department’s Office of Police Accountability investigates whether or not the officers attended the riots on Wednesday.
“The department fully supports all lawful expressions of First Amendment freedom of speech, but the violent mob and events that unfolded at the U.S. Capitol were unlawful and resulted in the death of another police officer,” Police Chief Adrian Diaz said in a statement.
“If any SPD officers were directly involved in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, I will immediately terminate them,” the police chief added.
The Office of Police Accountability’s civilian director, Andrew Myerberg, told the Seattle Times that a photo making the rounds on social media appeared to show the two officers at the riots.
“We believe they were there, but we don’t know all the facts yet, so that’s why we’re doing the investigation,” Myerberg told the Times.
The announcements from these police departments come as federal law enforcement had arrested more than 80 people in connection with the violent riots that took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.