As more arrests come out of last week’s deadly insurrection at the nation’s Capitol, several public safety officers have already been arrested for their roles.
A Florida firefighter was arrested this week after being pictured inside the Capitol building pointing at the nameplate of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and two Virginia police officers were arrested Wednesday and charged with unlawful entry into a restricted area, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Sergeant Thomas Robertson and Officer Jacob Fracker are from the Rocky Mount Police Department, where they have both been placed on administrative leave.
Robertson and Fracker were photographed inside the Capitol building in front of a Gen. John Stark statue. In the photos, one was seen pointing while the other was making an obscene gesture.
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Robertson shared the photo on his personal Facebook page, where he wrote that he was “proud” of the picture because it showed he and Fracker were “willing to put skin in the game,” according to the complaint and CBS News.
On his Facebook page, Fracker wrote: “Lol to anyone who’s possibly concerned about the picture of me going around… Sorry I hate freedom? …Not like I did anything illegal…y’all do what you feel you need to…” The post has since been deleted.
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In another Facebook post, Robertson allegedly wrote: “CNN and the Left are just mad because we actually attacked the government who is the problem and not some random small business … The right IN ONE DAY took the f***** U.S. Capitol. Keep poking us.”
Robertson told a local news station he didn’t see any rioting, violence or tear gas.
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“We were allowed by Capitol police to be where we were,” he said, “and were given water bottles and told where we could go and where we couldn’t.”
The Town of Rocky Mount said in a statement it “fully supports all lawful expressions of freedom of speech and assembly by its employees but does not condone the unlawful acts that occurred that day.”
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