Robert Sanford, a Pennsylvania man accused of hitting a Capitol cop with a fire extinguisher, is charged

by



[ad_1]

Robert Sanford, 55, was arrested Thursday morning in Pennsylvania, the Justice Department said. Court documents say Sanford was seen in video carrying a “red object, which appears to be a fire extinguisher” as he stepped over a small wall on the lower west terrace of the Capitol. He allegedly threw the extinguisher at police officers, hitting one, who was wearing a helmet, before ricocheting and hitting two others.

Officer William Young said he “felt a strong knock on the back of his helmet,” court documents said, and saw a fire extinguisher on the ground but did not see who had hit him. Young was assessed in hospital and cleared to return to duty.

Records say Sanford was identified at the FBI Pennsylvania branch on Tuesday and indicted in U.S. District Court on Wednesday.

Main arrests so far from the Capitol riot

He faces four charges: knowingly entering or remaining in a building or restricted land without legal authorization; disorderly or disruptive conduct on Capitol grounds; civil disorder; and assaulting, resisting or hindering certain officers in the performance of their official duties, the documents say.

It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer.

His arrest adds to a growing list of people accused in last week’s deadly riot, which left five dead, including a Capitol Hill police officer and a woman who participated in the attack.

So far, more than 30 people have been arrested on federal charges, with some of the defendants accused of bringing weapons to Capitol Hill and others being photographed ransacking the building. Many are accused of illegal entry or violent entry.

Among those arrested this week alone are Robert Keith Packer of Virginia, who has been identified as a man inside the Capitol wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with the phrase “Camp Auschwitz”, and Larry Rendell Brock, an officer Retired Air Force Reserve Officer from Texas who was pictured wandering the Senate Chamber grabbing a white cuff that is used by law enforcement to restrain or detain subjects.

CNN’s Jason Hanna, Katelyn Polantz and Marshall Cohen contributed to this report.

[ad_2]

Source link