The Department of Justice (DOJ) said a Maryland police officer was arrested and is facing charges for his alleged participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol.
In a news release, authorities said Justin Lee of Rockville, Md., was arrested Thursday in Washington, D.C., and was indicted on seven charges, including felony offenses of civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers.
Lee, 25, was also charged with several misdemeanor offenses, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds.
According to court documents, Lee “forcibly assaulted a law enforcement officer and obstructed, impeded, or interfered with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder” on the day of the insurrection.
“Lee is also accused of entering and remaining in the U.S. Capitol grounds while [former Vice President Mike Pence] was and would be temporarily visiting without lawful authority to do so and engaging in disruptive conduct, physical violence, and disorderly conduct while on restricted grounds of the Capitol,” court documents said.
According to The Washington Post, Lee applied to join the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) six months after the insurrection occurred, becoming a police officer in January 2022.
MCPD spokesperson Shiera D. Goff told the Post that Lee — who was involved in a fatal shooting of a 19-year-old man suspected of stabbing multiple people in and around a local shopping center — has been suspended without pay, and the department is moving forward with firing him from his position.
The Hill has reached out to the MCPD for comment and more information.
This comes as federal authorities have arrested and charged more than 1,100 individuals in connection to the deadly riot that disrupted a joint session of Congress that was in the process of counting the electoral votes for the 2020 presidential election.
More than 400 individuals have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, which is a felony.
Lee will make his initial court appearance Thursday, the DOJ noted.