This dude’s so arrogant and stupid his Facebook page is still public...
CNN
The Justice Department has charged a Capitol rioter who allegedly tased DC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who later spoke out about how he pleaded with the pro-Trump mob to spare his life.
In court documents unsealed Wednesday, federal prosecutors said Daniel Rodriguez used an "electroshock weapon" and a flagpole to assault an officer named "M.F." from Washington DC's Metropolitan Police Department. A law enforcement source confirmed to CNN that the initials are a reference to Fanone.
Fanone has previously said he was tased several times in the neck, beaten with a flagpole and heard rioters screaming that they should "kill him with his own gun," while they tried to pull his weapon out of its holster. Fanone said he begged the pro-Trump mob to spare him, and that he suffered a heart attack from the Taser.
Rodriguez was indicted on eight charges stemming from the Capitol insurrection including assaulting an officer, theft of government property and disorderly conduct on the US Capitol grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon. A lawyer for Rodriguez is not listed in the public court docket, and he has not yet entered a plea.
Read the Grand Jury Indictment here.
Los Angeles Times
Rodriguez is also accused of stealing one of the emergency escape hoods stored beneath the seats of members of Congress. Many lawmakers grabbed their hoods — designed for protection in a terrorist attack — as they fled the House and Senate chambers moments before the mob’s arrival.
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Fanone was in the thick of one of the most violent confrontations of the riot in a doorway tunnel where rioters screaming “heave-ho” tried to ram their way through a line of cops blocking the entrance. Another officer screamed in agony as his face was crushed against the door.
Fanone, who later described the scene as medieval, told reporters he was shocked on the back of his neck with a stun gun about half a dozen times. As rioters ripped his badge off and grabbed his ammunition magazines, Fanone struggled to hold on to his gun. He heard chanting: “Kill him with his own gun.”
“It was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.” — Michael Fanone
“Some medieval shit...” — Michael Fanone
Huffington Post — 3/31/2021
Fanone’s story went viral in the weeks following the insurrection. In media interviews, the father of four described being shocked with a stun gun and surrounded by rioters chanting, “Kill him with his own gun!”
A HuffPost investigation published Feb. 26 reported Rodriguez’s identity. HuffPost built off the work of the online sleuthing group Deep State Dogs and anti-fascist activists, who compiled footage of Rodriguez, a Fontana, California, resident, at the insurrection. HuffPost also interviewed witnesses who had previously encountered Rodriguez at pro-Trump rallies in Beverly Hills, as well as one of his former friends.
The FBI received tips about Rodriguez in January, including one from a man Rodriguez assaulted on video at a Los Angeles-area rally. But it wasn’t until hours after HuffPost contacted the bureau in late February with questions about Rodriguez that the tipster heard from an FBI special agent seeking information specifically about Rodriguez.
In a March 24 court filing requesting that Rodriguez’s indictment be sealed until his arrest, prosecutors wrote that Rodriguez “assaulted an officer with an electroshock weapon during the riot at the U.S. Capitol and has recently expressed a willingness to kill police officers.”
“I have kids!” — Michael Fanone
Huffington Post — 2/26/2021
The man in the red “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN” hat seemed to think he was untouchable. He joined the mob as they yelled “HEAVE! HO!” and tried to force their way through a police line into the Capitol building. Once inside, he used a pole to ram against a window, trying to shatter it and bring more people into the Capitol. In the most disturbing footage of all, he was caught on camera appearing to shock D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Mike Fanone with a stun gun. As rioters push Fanone down the stairs and away from other cops, video shows the man in the red cap pressing a small black device against the officer’s neck. Fanone instantly drops to the ground, swallowed by the mob.
Rodriguez, who goes by “Danny” and “DJ,” is well known among Trump supporters in the Los Angeles area as a superfan of the former president. Multiple news outlets have featured him in their coverage of the local pro-Trump movement in recent years, in articles that included his name and photo. He regularly attended the weekly Trump rallies in Beverly Hills last year. He was recognizable there by his dark-rimmed glasses and the many distinctive pins on his hat, which has a big GOP elephant symbol on the brim.
Videos from the attack on the Capitol, as highlighted by the sleuthing group Deep State Dogs and anti-fascist activists, show a man who’s identical to Rodriguez wearing the same glasses, hat, pins and sticker. In the clip of him trying to bust out the window, he yells, “Get in here!” Another video shows him picking up furniture and distributing it to fellow rioters, seemingly to use as battering tools.
The Hill
A law enforcement source told CNN that Rodriguez is one of several thought to have participated in the assault of Michael Fanone, a U.S. Capitol Police officer who told CNN in an interview that he heard rioters urging others to steal Fanone's gun and murder him with it during the Jan. 6 attack, while Fanone fought back and told rioters he had a family.
Rodriguez currently remains jailed awaiting a bond hearing Thursday. A New York man, Thomas Sibick, also faces charges related to the assault on Fanone.
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“We’re grateful to the members of the public who have already been a tremendous help in these investigations,” said the head of the FBI's Washington, D.C., field office earlier in March, speaking about the ongoing probe. “We know it can be a difficult decision to report information about family, friends, or coworkers, but it is the right thing to do and the FBI continues to need your help to identify these suspects."
The FBI continues to seek the public’s assistance in identifying individuals who participated in unlawful conduct during the Capitol Insurrection.
If you have information about pompous jackasses who violently attacked law enforcement officers at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or leave a tip online. You may also submit relevant photos and videos to the FBI here.