WASHINGTON – A man known to the public the pursuer The police officers who testified on January 6 were arrested for their involvement in the 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
Tommy TatumThe man, who testified on behalf of the defendant on Jan. 6, was arrested Wednesday in Mississippi, according to court records. He faces felony charges of obstructing, obstructing or interfering with law enforcement officers performing their duties, as well as misdemeanor charges of inciting civil disturbance.
Court documents do not list an attorney for Tatum.
Tatum was a frequent participant in the Jan. 6 protests outside the prison in Washington, where some of the defendants were being held. This was previously reported by NBC News he also suppressed officers who testified during the Capitol assault trials.
Last year, Tatum took the witness stand Brian Mock, the defendant who attacked police officers on January 6 and later represented himself in court. Mock was convicted and was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison in February and is currently incarcerated in Minnesota, according to federal prison records.
Tatum was on the front lines of the west front of the US Capitol and on Jan. 6 as a pro-Trump mob chased outnumbered police officers. He eventually made his way to the lower west tunnel, where the most intense violence took place. day happened.
“Take their helmets! Take their helmets! Take your helmets,” Tatum said in one of the videos he posted about his performance on January 6. In a 2022 interview with NBC News, Tatum said he was yelling at law enforcement for “spraying us with that deadly gas. In my opinion, I think that if they take off their helmets, maybe they will stop medicating.”
FBI statement Against Tatum, he “appeared in several federal trials of the January 6 defendants and was listed as a defense witness in several trials” and in a video he confirmed he shot “repeatedly insulting and taunting uniformed police officers” as the police line collapsed. .
“Don’t run back, just stay on the ground, breathe, breathe, regroup,” Tatum said in the video of the officers being chased. “They’re scared as s— now.”
“Yeah, run b——! We got you—— now! Woo! Woo! Woo!” Tatum said in the video.
The FBI said Tatum also approached the police line with the flagpole forward and close to the officer’s chest level; Body camera footage does not show whether the tip of the flagpole made contact with any officers. Once inside the tunnel, Tatum was part of a crowd that made “repeated collective efforts to push forward” toward the officers, according to the FBI.
More than 1,400 people have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and prosecutors have ruled against more than 1,000 defendants. More than 540 defendants were sentenced to several days behind bars. 22 years in federal prison For the leader of the Proud Boys was found guilty of sedition.