A former Green Beret wearing a tactical vest hit a police officer in the face with a pole he wielded like a spear during the Capitol rebellion, according to new government and FBI court documents
Jeffrey McKellop, who was arrested on Wednesday and charged with pushing, pushing or hitting several officers violently, is the first known troublemaker on Capitol Hill to serve in the elite Special Operations military division. During the January 6 riot, he carried a flagpole with at least two types of flags: a “thin blue line” flag, which is generally used to signal support to the police, and a 13-star Betsy Ross flag with the words “Trump. Keep America Great ”printed on it, said the FBI.
“The defendant attacked several sworn officers who protected the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, with the apparent intention of facilitating the violation that endangered not only the lives of public officials, but the heart of this country’s democracy,” prosecutors said in a detention memorandum filed on Friday. “Notably, the defendant came prepared for battle.”
While he invaded Capitol, they wrote, Mr. McKellop wore a helmet, goggles and gas mask. In a series of attacks against the police, he pushed three policemen down by waving their arms, tried to grab a can of riot spray from one of the policemen in a lieutenant’s uniform, and threw a bottle at a line of policemen.
In addition, he picked up a flagpole from the ground and hit an officer in the face, causing the officer to stagger backward and cause a laceration to the face.
In searches for a house in Gainesville, Virginia, and a residence in Fishersville, Virginia, where officers spotted McKellop shortly before his arrest, the police recovered several firearms and a flash-bang device, the government said. They also found a backpack with a Special Forces pin that matched the backpack that McKellop was said to have worn during the Capitol rebellion.
In search of a vehicle registered in the name of Mr. McKellop, they identified a “go bag” with meal bars, water purification equipment, clothing and a firearm, among other items.
“He carried out these attacks on uniformed policemen,” wrote prosecutors. “He committed several attacks on different policemen over the course of several minutes. Their conduct, especially in the context of the attack on the Capitol, shows an intention to harm the police and interrupt the legitimate functioning of the government ”.
Prosecutors argued that McKellop’s training and military service, along with his employment in the intelligence community, only made him more dangerous. He has received extensive military and combat training since the 1990s and was posted abroad in 2018 as a contractor for the CIA and the State Department, the government said.