RI Man Charged With Assaulting Officer At Jan. 6 Insurrection

PROVIDENCE, RI — A Providence man is accused of attacking a police officer during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Timothy Desjardins, 35, was arrested on unrelated charges in Rhode Island.

According to the Department of Justice, video shows Desjardins assaulting several police officers with what appeared to be a broken wooden table leg in the tunnel area of the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol. The video was taken around 4:45 p.m., officials said, as a crowd of rioters forced its way into the tunnel and threw items such as batons and a table at officers.

Desjardins was charged with engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, civil disorder, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers with a dangerous weapon and more. He was arrested in Providence on unrelated charges and is to appear in court for the new federal charges at a later time, authorities said.

According to the DOJ, 675 people have been arrested in connection with the riot since January in nearly all 50 states. Of these, more than 210 have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.