Ex-Va. cop who stormed Capitol ordered jailed after feds find guns in his home

A former Virginia police officer who is facing charges in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol has been ordered detained pending trial after federal agents found guns in his home.

A D.C. federal judge revoked pretrial release for former Rocky Mount Police officer Thomas Robertson on Wednesday, finding probable cause that he may have committed a felony on pretrial release.

Robertson was among the first arrested a week after the Capitol breach. He was ordered released pending trial shortly after, and was ordered not to possess a firearm.

But in a court filing dated June 30, prosecutors said law enforcement searched Robertson’s home and found a loaded M4 rifle and “a partially-assembled pipe bomb.” Authorities also found that Robertson purchased an arsenal of 34 firearms waiting for him to pick up from a firearms store.

Prosecutors also flagged several of Robertsons’s post to an online forum, in which he said “I have learned that if you peacefully protest than you will be arrested, fired, be put on a no fly list, have your name smeared and address released by the FBI so every loon in the US can send you hate mail.”

His attorney, Mark Rollins, said in a court filing dated July 4 that Robertson loved antique guns from the World War II era, and that the ones he purchased were such antiques.

Rollins further said his client’s comments on social media were not relevant to the matter before the court.

District Judge Christopher Cooper sided with prosecutors.

“The undisputed facts demonstrate a concrete risk that Robertson might participate in or provide material support to acts of ideologically motivated violence if released at this time,” Cooper wrote.

Robertson pleaded not guilty in February to four charges in connection with the riots, according to court records.

Robertson and Jacob Fracker, another former Rocky Mount police officer, were photographed inside the Capitol making an obscene gesture in front of a statue of John Stark. The two were fired in late January.

The Hill has reached out to Rollins for comment.