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A veteran Houston police officer is in trouble after attending the U.S. Capitol riots in Washington, D.C., then lying about it.
Officer Tam Dinh Pham joined the deadly mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. But when he was questioned about it, he lied to federal authorities, per Huff Post.
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In a Jan.12 interview, federal agents asked Pham if he participated in the riots, but he said no.
Not only did Pham, 48, attend the riots, but he was also among the anarchists that stormed the building. He took photos of himself inside but then deleted them. Agents were able to eventually view the images because Pham did not erase them from his deleted photos folder.
According to an affidavit written by FBI Special Agent Amie Stemen:
Pham of Richmond, Texas, “stated that once he was on the inside of the Capitol, he went into the Rotunda, where he looked at the historical art on the walls and took photographs and videos inside” and “remained inside of the Rotunda for 10-15 minutes before he left and that he did not return to the Capitol.”
Pham, who was born in Vietnam, can be seen on camera in the Capitol building wielding a Trump flag. He tried to clean up his statement after the feds reminded him it was illegal to lie. He then said he only was coincidentally in Washington, D.C. for his wife’s cooking business. He then admits to climbing over fences and going around barricades to enter the Capitol at the time of the riot to “see the history” of the building.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said Pham resigned on Jan. 15. He had been an officer for 18 years.
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He was charged with “knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority” and “violence entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.”
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