Prosecutors charge man who allegedly assaulted police at the US Capitol and brought hatchets to FBI headquarters
(CNN) — Federal prosecutors unsealed charges against a Rhode Island man on Monday who allegedly attempted to hop over security chains behind the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., with two hatchets just hours after the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6.
Timothy Desjardins, 35, was caught on video using a broken wooden table leg to beat Capitol Police officers on the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol, the site of some of the most brutal fighting between officers and the mob, according to the charging documents.
In the video, prosecutors say Desjardins was wearing a black leather jacket, a flat cap hat, and a camouflage backpack.
Then, at 2 a.m. on Jan. 7, FBI agents reported a security breach when they found Desjardins attempting to climb over security chains outside FBI headquarters. The agents found “one or two hatchets” inside his backpack, according to court documents.
Desjardins allegedly said that he was “good” at using the hatchets and admitted that he was at the Capitol but would not go into any more detail.
The agents initially released Desjardins because they determined there were no warrants out for his arrest. Once he left the FBI building, prosecutors say Desjardins ditched his backpack on the street. Police say they found the backpack a few hours later, inside of which was Desjardins’ ID, two black walkie talkies, three axes, a flashlight, assorted clothing, prescription bottles and a credit card.
Investigators say they confirmed Desjardins was at the Capitol during the riot by cross-referencing video from that day with his mugshot after he was arrested in October for allegedly firing a shot that grazed the head of another man in the parking lot of a Providence Walgreens.
Desjardins has been charged with six federal crimes, including engaging in physical violence on restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon. He has not yet entered a plea and is being held in jail in Rhode Island.
More than 670 people have been charged in connection to the U.S. Capitol riot.