Police departments across the country have opened investigations after discovering that members of their police force were involved in last week’s Capitol riot. According to reports, multiple off-duty cops have been identified as pro-Trump rioters and are now facing repercussions back home.
The Seattle Police Department recently announced that two of its officers had been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into their alleged participation in the insurrection. The New York Times reports that officers from Texas, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire are also facing investigations after posting photos from the riot.
According to the outlet, San Antonio Lt. Roxanne Mathai posted a video of herself on Facebook near the Capitol. Mathai had reportedly been wearing a red, white and blue face mask and had wrapped herself in an American flag. In the background of the clip, Capitol Police could be seen using tear gas to control the crowd, which could indicate that the protest had already been declared an unlawful assembly.
“If that is the case and she remained on scene and began filming and began making challenging statements, that means breaking the law,” Sheriff Javier Salazar, who opened the investigation, told the Times.
In Zelienople, Pennsylvania; police are reviewing whether or not one of their officers, Timothy Goldie, acted unlawfully during the D.C. unrest.
“Him being there is not a problem — he had a right to be there, but not to break into the Capitol, obviously,” Jim Miller, the department head, said.
David Ellis — the police chief in Troy, New Hampshire — has also been identified as a rioter who stormed the Capitol. Residents of Troy have since called for him to resign.
According to NBC New York, names of participating rioters from the New York police and fire department have also been turned over to the FBI.
While speaking anonymously with BuzzFeed News, several Black Capitol officers said they were confronted by white, off-duty cops.
“You have the nerve to be holding a Blue Lives Matter flag, and you are out there fucking us up,” one officer said. “[One rioter] pulled out his [police] badge and he said, ‘We’re doing this for you.’ Another guy had his badge. So I was like, ‘Well, you gotta be kidding.’”