A Southern California man has been indicted for assaulting a police officer with an “electroshock weapon” and flagpole during the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol, federal prosecutors said.
He is charged with using the weapons against “a law enforcement officer, that is M.F., an officer from the Metropolitan Police Department.”
Rodriguez has also been indicted on one count of obstructing an official proceeding; one count of impeding, obstructing, or interfering with a law enforcement officer during the commission of a civil disorder; one count of theft of government property; one count of destruction of government property; and three counts of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building without lawful authority with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the officer was assaulted after being dragged into a crowd. Officer Michael Fanone told reporters that he heard people encouraging each other to “kill him with his own gun” as they attempted to grab his weapon and pieces of equipment off his vest.
The charges against Rodriguez were filed last week but weren’t made public until Wednesday after the indictment was unsealed by the DOJ.
At least one other person has been charged by prosecutors related to the assault on Fanone. New York resident Thomas Sibick was arrested on multiple charges including assaulting or impeding officers and obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder.
Prosecutors said Sibick was seen on police body-camera footage assaulting Fanone as he lay on the ground outside the U.S. Capitol.
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Rodriguez on Friday morning in the Central District of California. The charge of assaulting a police officer with a deadly weapon carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
