Another member of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, has been arrested, and this time, it’s one of those who were seemingly among the riot participants responsible for the aggression that left officer Daniel Hodges infamously screaming in pain as he was crushed. Richard Cook, 37, of Boca Raton, Florida, attempted along with many other rioters to basically halt the electoral vote count, but the effort failed. Cook’s actions earned him felony and misdemeanor charges.
Specifically, those charges were civil disorder, which is a felony criminal offense, and related misdemeanor allegations, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia.
Cook attacked police officers during the breach, specifically joining the portion of the crowd in the area of the Capitol building’s Lower West Terrace, where a tunnel is found that was the site of some of the more brutal violence seen that day — attacks that Fox News host Tucker Carlson, among others, have conveniently ignored in their attempts to downplay the severity of what happened at the Capitol. Carlson’s line of argument has earned rebukes and rebuttals from across politics and government, including Mitt Romney and even federal prosecutors who disputed the characterization Carlson made in a filing in another rioter’s case.
“According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, Cook was among rioters who repeatedly engaged in violence against law enforcement officers guarding the Capitol,” federal authorities said in an available press release. “Cook entered the tunnel two separate times to assist in the collective pushes against police officers as the rioters tried to gain access to the Capitol building. While Cook joined in collective pushes, one police officer screamed in pain as the weight of the rioters’ pushes pinned him between a shield and a door.” That seemingly means Hodges. It’s the tunnel where members of the crowd also moved their bodies back and forth in rhythmic unison, trying to force their way into the Capitol. In the past 26 months, some 1,000 people have been arrested for participating in the breach of the Capitol.
Gloria Christie is a political journalist for the liberal online newspaper The Bipartisan Report. Find her here on Facebook. Or at Three White Lions, her book written in her own unique style with a twist of humor on Amazon Kindle Vella and the Gloria Christie Three White Lions podcast on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. Christie’s Mueller Report Adventures In Bite-Sizes a real-life compelling spy mystery (in progress).
