Posted on Apr 12, 2022
Army vet, ex-cop convicted of storming Capitol to disrupt Congress
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READ OF THE DAY
Army vet, ex-cop convicted of storming Capitol to disrupt Congress
By Michael Kunzelman, The Associated Press
Apr 11, 08:13 PM
In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, violent protesters loyal to President Donald Trump storm the Capitol in Washington.
In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, violent protesters loyal to President Donald Trump storm the Capitol in Washington. (John Minchillo/AP)
A federal jury on Monday convicted a former Virginia police officer of storming the U.S. Capitol with another off-duty officer to obstruct Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory.
Jurors convicted former Rocky Mount police officer Thomas Robertson of all six counts he faced stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, including charges that he interfered with police officers at the Capitol and that he entered a restricted area with a dangerous weapon, a large wooden stick.
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Lt Col Charlie Brown SSG Michael Noll Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Cpl Vic Burk MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. SGT (Join to see) PO2 Marco Monsalve SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth ] SSG William Jones Sgt (Join to see) 1SG Dan Capri CDR Andrew McMenamin, PhD SrA John Monette SFC (Join to see) GySgt Jack Wallace SPC Michael Terrell SMSgt Anil Heendeniya CPL Patrick Rasmussen
Army vet, ex-cop convicted of storming Capitol to disrupt Congress
By Michael Kunzelman, The Associated Press
Apr 11, 08:13 PM
In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, violent protesters loyal to President Donald Trump storm the Capitol in Washington.
In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, violent protesters loyal to President Donald Trump storm the Capitol in Washington. (John Minchillo/AP)
A federal jury on Monday convicted a former Virginia police officer of storming the U.S. Capitol with another off-duty officer to obstruct Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory.
Jurors convicted former Rocky Mount police officer Thomas Robertson of all six counts he faced stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, including charges that he interfered with police officers at the Capitol and that he entered a restricted area with a dangerous weapon, a large wooden stick.
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Lt Col Charlie Brown SSG Michael Noll Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Cpl Vic Burk MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. SGT (Join to see) PO2 Marco Monsalve SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth ] SSG William Jones Sgt (Join to see) 1SG Dan Capri CDR Andrew McMenamin, PhD SrA John Monette SFC (Join to see) GySgt Jack Wallace SPC Michael Terrell SMSgt Anil Heendeniya CPL Patrick Rasmussen
Army vet, ex-cop convicted of storming Capitol to disrupt Congress
Posted from armytimes.com
Crime
Congress
Posted 2 y ago
Responses: 3
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SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
..."Jurors saw some of Robertson’s vitriolic posts on social media before and after the Capitol riot. In a Facebook post on Nov. 7, 2020, Robertson said “being disenfranchised by fraud is my hard line.”
“I’ve spent most of my adult life fighting a counter insurgency. (I’m) about to become part of one, and a very effective one,” he wrote.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Aloi told jurors that Robertson was charged for his actions, not his political beliefs. Wagner also said Robertson should be judged by his actions, not his words.
The town fired Robertson and Fracker after the riot. Rocky Mount is about 25 miles south of Roanoke and has roughly 5,000 residents.
Robertson has been jailed since Cooper ruled in July that he violated the terms of his pretrial release by possessing firearms.
More than 770 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the riot. Over 250 of them have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanors.
Robertson’s trial is one of four so far for Capitol riot defendants. Two others had their cases decided by bench trials before the same judge.
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden convicted New Mexico elected official Couy Griffin last month of illegally entering restricted Capitol grounds but acquitted him of engaging in disorderly conduct. On Wednesday, McFadden acquitted another New Mexico man, Matthew Martin, of all four charges that he faced."
..."Jurors saw some of Robertson’s vitriolic posts on social media before and after the Capitol riot. In a Facebook post on Nov. 7, 2020, Robertson said “being disenfranchised by fraud is my hard line.”
“I’ve spent most of my adult life fighting a counter insurgency. (I’m) about to become part of one, and a very effective one,” he wrote.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Aloi told jurors that Robertson was charged for his actions, not his political beliefs. Wagner also said Robertson should be judged by his actions, not his words.
The town fired Robertson and Fracker after the riot. Rocky Mount is about 25 miles south of Roanoke and has roughly 5,000 residents.
Robertson has been jailed since Cooper ruled in July that he violated the terms of his pretrial release by possessing firearms.
More than 770 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the riot. Over 250 of them have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanors.
Robertson’s trial is one of four so far for Capitol riot defendants. Two others had their cases decided by bench trials before the same judge.
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden convicted New Mexico elected official Couy Griffin last month of illegally entering restricted Capitol grounds but acquitted him of engaging in disorderly conduct. On Wednesday, McFadden acquitted another New Mexico man, Matthew Martin, of all four charges that he faced."
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