July 3 (UPI) — A 28-year-old man from Michigan has been arrested in Orlando, Fla., for allegedly storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Jeremy Rodgers has been charged with assault on a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon, civil disorder, entering a restricted building and other felony charges.
Rodgers is accused of hitting a law enforcement officer with a wooden flagpole during the Capitol riot. According to court documents, he was seen carrying the flagpole with a blue flag on it up to a line of officers who were guarding the east rotunda entrance. He then hit an officer’s helmet with the flagpole three times.
The press release from the Justice Department described the strikes as audible. He later took two more swings at officers and tried to use the flagpole to stop officers from closing the east rotunda door.
Rodgers allegedly entered the Capitol Building at 2.26 p.m. and remained inside for about 30 minutes. During that time, he removed a railing that was blocking the crowd from entering and told them to “come on in” while waving them on. He also joined a crowd that pushed through police who were guarding the entrance to the House chambers.
He had at least one more skirmish with police officers before leaving the building.
The FBI arrested Rodgers, of Midland, Mich., in Orlando on Friday. He faced a judge that day in Orlando, but was released. He will be arraigned in Washington, D.C. His case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia, as well as the Justice Department’s Counterterrorism Section.
According to a report by the Midland (Mich.) Daily News, Rodgers previously has run for Midland City Council and has been active in the Midland County Republican party and the support of several of its candidates at the state level.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.