Calif. man charged with attacking officer with stun weapon in Capitol riot

A Southern California man has been indicted on charges that he attacked a police officer with an “electroshock weapon” during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, prosecutors said Thursday.

Daniel Rodriguez, 38, of Fontana, was arrested Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said.

He is accused of attacking Metropolitan Police Department Officer Michael Fanone during the assault on the Capitol as Congress was formally counting the electoral votes affirming President Joe Biden’s win.

Fanone has described being beaten by the mob and shocked with a stun gun repeatedly, and he said that some in the crowd chanted, “kill him with his own gun.”

“I was being beaten with a thin blue line flag — which, you know, how ironic is that?” Fanone told NBC Washington in January. The flag is generally seen as supportive of law enforcement. He said he suffered a mild heart attack.

The indictment, against Rodriguez was returned last week and unsealed Wednesday, officials said.

Rodriguez appeared in court Thursday and was ordered held until at least his next hearing Friday, the U.S. attorney’s office said. Online federal court records do not list an attorney for him.

March 18, 202101:35

Rodriguez is charged with eight federal counts, including obstructing an official proceeding; impeding, obstructing, or interfering with a law enforcement officer during the commission of a of civil disorder; and assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.

The indictment alleges that Rodriguez carried the stun weapon and a flagpole inside restricted Capitol areas, but it does not describe whether a flag was attached. It also alleges that he broke a window at the Capitol building.

People across the country have been arrested in connection with the riot at the Capitol. More than 350 people have been charged federally.

It led to President Donald Trump, who had repeatedly and falsely claimed fraud and promoted a stolen election lie, and who held a rally before the riot occurred, being impeached for an unprecedented second time. He was acquitted in the Senate. This week, two Capitol police officers sued Trump.

Fontana is a city east of Los Angeles.