A Massachusetts man who allegedly punched police officers and at least one member of the crowd during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot has been arrested, the FBI announced Tuesday.
Troy E. Sargent, of Pittsfield, Mass., is the seventh person arrested by the FBI’s Boston Division to be charged in connection with the incident.
Sargent faces six counts, including for allegedly forcibly assaulting, resisting, opposing or impeding federal officers, according to an FBI arrest affidavit.
In police bodycam video, he allegedly “approaches the front of the crowd of rioters, confronts the line of police officers attempting to hold the crowd back, and physically engages with one of the officers,” according to the affidavit.
“Sargent appears to make physical contact with one or more law-enforcement officers.
Investigators identified Sargent after witnesses sent them social media posts that appeared to place him at the scene – including a selfie with riot officers in the background and a receipt for a stay at the Hyatt Place hotel in Washington, D.C.
He is accused of throwing punches at officers in an incident caught on video and striking one person in the crowd inadvertently.
The U.S. Capitol Police were “understaffed” and “insufficiently equipped” to handle the riot, according to a task force review led by retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré.
Recommendations to improve the force include hiring more than 900 additional officers and upgrading equipment – especially communications equipment – as well as cutting bureaucratic red tape that slowed down the department’s ability to call in backup as things rapidly spun out of control.
