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This is one of the images of the pro-Trump riot that shocked the country and outraged members of Congress: a policeman wearing a red Make America Great Again cap and leading protesters through a crowd on the U.S. Capitol.
Within days, the policeman was suspended.
The officer, identified by the Wall Street Journal as Lt. Tarik Khalid Johnson, told his colleagues the footage was not what it appeared to be. The MAGA cap was a ruse that was part of an unusual plan to save more than a dozen policemen trapped in the January 6 riot, they said. And a witness said the lieutenant’s action closed a set of doors on the Capitol, closing an entry point to more intruders.
Lt. Johnson, 45, is one of three officers suspended after rioters invaded law enforcement and endangered the lives of members of Congress as they certified Electoral College votes to elect Joseph Biden for the presidency. Investigations are active into the actions of several other officers that day, according to a congressional aide.
Colleagues said Lt. Johnson, who voted as a registered Democrat in the Maryland primary last year, was not known to them as a supporter of Mr. Trump, and some were surprised when a photo circulated from Lieutenant Johnson wearing the MAGA cap during the riot.
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