Two Virginia police officers have been arrested after taking a selfie inside the Capitol during last week’s violent siege and allegedly boasting about their conduct on social media.
Rocky Mount police officers Jacob Fracker and Thomas Robertson were charged Wednesday with unlawful entry into a restricted area and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, prosecutors said.
Fracker and Robertson had been placed on administrative leave over their role in the deadly riots after posing in front of a statue of John Stark, a general during the American Revolution.
Both men were off duty when they photographed themselves standing in front of the statue, with Robertson pointing and Fracker holding up his extended middle finger.
According to the criminal complaint, Robertson allegedly wrote on Facebook: “CNN and the Left are just mad because we actually attacked the government who is the problem and not some random small business … The right IN ONE DAY took the f—–g U.S. Capitol. Keep poking us.”
He also said on Instagram he was “proud” of the photo as it showed he was “willing to put skin in the game,” court papers state.
The picture had reportedly been circulating within the officers’ department before being posted on Facebook.
“I wasn’t trying to keep it a secret. It’s being taken totally out of context. I’m not afraid of this being posted, because I’ve done nothing wrong,” Robertson told the Richmond-Dispatch Times.
In a now deleted Facebook post, Fracker is said to have written: “Lol to anyone who’s possibly concerned about the picture of me going around… Sorry I hate freedom? …Not like I did anything illegal.”
There have already been over 80 arrests in connection with the violent storming of the Capitol, and that figure is expected to rise, DC prosecutors said.