Federal authorities have announced the apprehension of a Capitol riot defendant accused of using a Trump flag against police officers during that violence in early 2021… while allegedly wearing an American flag-themed outfit that even included flag pants.
The defendant is Illinois man Lance Michael Ligocki, who is charged with civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding police — both felony charges extensively used by federal prosecutors in the many criminal cases stemming from the Capitol attack. Ligocki also faces misdemeanor charges.
And yet again, a defendant among those accused of the most serious acts joined the chaos specifically in and around the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace tunnel, a structure put in place by the construction for the then-upcoming presidential inauguration that put Joe Biden in office. He sounds most specifically to have been outside the tunnel, per the allegations assembled by federal authorities.
“Court documents say that Ligocki was identified in an open-source video on the Lower West Terrace, where police had formed a defensive line at the mouth of an archway leading to an entrance to the Capitol building known as the Tunnel,” said the U.S. Attorney’s office for Washington, D.C., adding: “Video footage shows Ligocki on the Lower West Terrace allegedly swinging a pole with a “Trump” flag at law enforcement officers three times while carrying the “Stop the Steal” sign.”
Trump, meanwhile, who recently reached the convention delegate total that’s needed to actually secure Republicans’ already expected presidential nomination later this year, consistently stumps for participants in the Capitol attack, often making no distinction between those accused of violence and those with criminal cases involving less serious allegations. Trump deems detainees from the group “hostages,” and he recently pledged to prioritize the release of such individuals if elected again to the presidency later this year. That’s in addition to Trump’s continued and extensive promotion of the same election lies that originally fueled the Capitol attack happening at all.
