Police bodycam footage shared with FBI investigators that allegedly shows Massachusetts resident Troy Sargent at the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Riot in Washington, D.C.
A Massachusetts man arrested last year in the FBI's U.S. Capitol riot investigation has pleaded guilty to assaulting members of law enforcement, the Department of Justice said Monday.
Troy Sargent, a 38-year-old from Pittsfield, pleaded guilty Monday to the six charges he'd been indicted with, including civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding officers, for his part in the violence that broke out Jan. 6, 2021, following a pro-Trump rally nearby in Washington, D.C., according to the Justice Department.
Sargent had been seen on a local police body camera throwing a punch at officers protecting the Capitol building, according to an FBI investigator's affidavit filed in federal court. Several people had written to the FBI to say that Sargent attended the rally.
He'll be sentenced in October and faces at least eight years behind bars on the charge related to assaulting, resisting or impeding officers alone, according to prosecutors.
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Sargent slapped an officer during the riot, then tried to do so again about a minute later after another officer told the crowd that he was in not to attack people, officials said. The Massachusetts man would later write to someone else on social media, "I got two hits in on the same rookie cop."
The riot interrupted a key part of the certification of the 2020 presidential election and led to five deaths. It remains under investigation across the country as one of the most significant interruptions of the peaceful transition of power in American history. More than 840 people have been arrested.
Sargent's was the seventh arrest by the FBI's Boston division in connection with the Capitol riot, a bureau representative told NBC News at the time.
A House panel is investigating the riot as well. Over several televised hearings, it has revealed what led to the violence and more about what took place while it happened, and on Monday announced a surprise hearing for the following day after new evidence came to light.
