A former Virginia police officer pleaded guilty today to participating in the US Capitol raid with another ex-officer, who is due to stand trial in April on charges related to the attack.
His attorney, Jacob Fraker, a police officer in Rocky Mount, Virginia, revealed that he was driven out of town after his arrest and agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors.
A date for the ruling to be read has not been released yet, according to the Associated Press (AP).
The former police officer pleaded guilty to conspiring to prevent a formal process, the session of the US Congress that met on January 6, 2021 to certify President Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
This crime is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Thomas Robertson, Fracker’s partner in the Capitol raid, is scheduled to begin trial on April 4.
The city of Rocky Mount also shot Robertson after the Capitol raid.
Fracker and Robertson were off duty when they moved with a neighbor to Washington on the morning of January 6.
That day, supporters of former President Donald Trump tried to prevent Democrat Joe Biden from obtaining electoral endorsement by storming the Capitol.
According to the indictment in the Fracker suit, Thomas Robertson took three gas masks for use in the capital.
The three men wore gas masks and joined the protesters, Robertson carrying a large wooden stick he used to prevent Metropolitan Police officers from assisting Capitol Police officers to contain the crowd, according to the indictment.
During the attack, Fracker and Robertson took a photo inside the Capitol.
Thomas Robertson has been in prison since US District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled in July that he had violated the terms of his pretrial release for possession of firearms.
The former Republican congressman from West Virginia, Derek Evans, accused of invading the Capitol, also held a plea hearing hearing scheduled for Friday.
Early Thursday, a Texas man “forgotten” by the justice system after his arrest pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer with a pole during the attack.
Lucas Dini’s lawyers say the government has unlawfully detained him for weeks without charge.
More than 760 people have been charged with federal crimes in the wake of the Capitol invasion. More than 220 people have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanours, and more than 127 have been convicted, while nearly 100 others are on trial.
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