The FBI said it was pursuing multiple cases of violence against police officers stemming from the riot Capitol Hill last week, and today an arrest has been made in one of them. A video taken on January 6th captured a man hurling a fire extinguisher at a Capitol Hill officer (watch above). Now, police say, that man is retired firefighter Robert Sanford. He is facing charges including unlawful entry, civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding police. According to court documents, a friend of Sanford’s called the FBI and said the 55-year-old Chester, Pennsylvania resident confessed he was the person that the FBI was looking for. The caller said Sanford told him, “The group had gone to the White House and listened to President Donald J. Trump’s speech and then had followed the President’s instructions and gone to the Capitol. The complainant indicated that SANFORD had claimed to have been on the Capitol grounds for about 10 minutes before ‘they’ left.”
Chester mayor Thaddeus Kirkland releasing a statement today:
“…While Robert Sanford adorned a hat with a Fire Department logo, he is not a current employee of the city of Chester.”
Sanford was a member of the Chester Fire Dept from Jan 1994 until Feb 2020@6abc
— George Solis (@GeorgeSolis) January 14, 2021
Here’s what the arrest affidavit says about the fire extinguisher Sanford is accusing of throwing:
“The object appears to strike one officer, who was wearing a helmet, in the head. The object then ricochets and strikes another officer, who was not wearing a helmet, in the head. The object then ricochets a third time and strikes a third officer, wearing a helmet, in the head.”
“Officer William Young… was on duty and attempting to control the crowd, he felt a hard strike to the back of his helmet. When he turned to see where the blow had originated, Officer Young saw a fire extinguisher on the ground but could not determine who had struck him. Officer Young was subsequently evaluated at a hospital and cleared to return to duty.”
A reporter for the ABC affiliate in Philadelphia says “Authorities found Proud Boys paraphernalia at his home following execution of search warrant… He will remain in US Marshals Service custody until he is transferred to DC, denied release.”
The charges carry up to 10 years behind bars. But earlier in the week the FBI and U.S. Attorney pointed out that some charges could be added after arrests.