An Arkansas man was arrested by the police after allegedly beating an officer with an American flag during the Capitol riot last week.
Videos of Peter Stager circulated on social media showing him saying: “Death is the only remedy for what is in that building”, in reference to the Capitol, and supposedly hitting an officer with a flagpole with the American flag affixed, according to the CBS THV11 station.
Terrorist beats officer with American flagpic.twitter.com/HVNa0i9E9O
– Cleavon MD (@Cleavon_MD) January 11, 2021
A confidential source came forward and identified Stager as the man seen in the video, and police said they believed Stager was the man in the video after comparing the photo of his driver’s license with the footage taken on January 6, the agency noted.
Federal court documents identify the officer as a member of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department and say the officer was on guard at the entrance to the Capitol when he was pulled down the stairs and attacked by the crowd, THV11 reported.
Stager reportedly told police that he originally believed he was assaulting an Antifa member during the incident and not a police officer, although the statement said the policeman had “Metropolitan Police” visible on his back, according to the vehicle.
He is facing charges of civil disorder and faces up to five years in prison, FOX5 reported.