PITTSFIELD, Mass. (NEWS10) – A Massachusetts man who hit a police officer during the January 6, 2021 riot at the United States Capitol, and later bragged about it on social media, pleaded guilty Monday to assaulting a law enforcement officer. In federal court in Washington, D.C., Troy Sargent, 38, of Pittsfield pleaded guilty to all six charges he faced, including felony charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers and civil disorder, as well as four related misdemeanors.
According to court documents, Sargent was part of a crowd of rioters illegally on the Capitol grounds on January 6, 2021. Around 2:30 p.m., he stepped forward from the crowd and hit a U.S. Capitol Police Officer with an open hand. He was met by a warning from another officer, who immediately told Sargent and others, “do not start attacking people.”
Sargent swung at the same officer 30 seconds later, but made contact with another person in the crowd instead, officials said. In a social media message later, he wrote to another person, “I got two hits in on the same rookie cop …”
Sargent was arrested on March 9, 2021, in Pittsfield. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 3, 2022. He faces a statutory maximum of eight years in prison on the charge of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers and up to five years in prison on the civil disorder charge. He also faces a total of three-and-a-half years in prison for the four misdemeanors. The charges could carry financial penalties as well.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Justice Department’s National Security Division are prosecuting the case, with assistance provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. The FBI’s Boston Field Office investigated the case, with help from the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the U.S. Capitol Police, and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 17 months since January 6, 2021, more than 840 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 250 people charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with tips call call 1 (800) CALL-FBI or visit the FBI’s tips website.