Federal prosecutors on Friday charged a Chicago Police Department (CPD) officer with breaching the U.S. Capitol on January 6, where he allegedly took a selfie inside a Democratic senator’s office and texted a friend that he’d “knocked out a commie.”
Chicago police officer Karol Chwiesiuk, 29, was arrested Friday after being charged with five misdemeanor counts tied to the deadly riot in Washington, D.C.
Using toll road records, text messages and testimony from a friend, the months-long FBI investigation led to a 19-page complaint filed against Chwiesiuk in U.S. District Court in Washington.
Several photographs appear to show the officer wearing a Chicago Police sweatshirt inside Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley’s Capitol Hill office.
Text messages allegedly sent by Chwiesiuk reveal him bragging about having “knocked out a commie” and also writing: “N****, Don’t snitch.”
The federal charges against the Chicago police officer include entering a restricted building, disrupting government business, and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds with intent to impede a congressional proceeding. The charges each carry up to one year in prison should he be convicted.
“The FBI believes that the defendant took the selfie when he was inside a room of the Capitol, specifically room S140. Your affiant knows Room S140 to be an office of Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR). Sen. Merkley tweeted a video of the destruction to his office on January 6, 2021,” the federal complaint read, highlighting multiple cell phone images allegedly taken by Chwiesiuk during the violent riots.
Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown reacted to the charges during a Friday press conference, the Chicago Tribune reported: “The fact that a Chicago police officer has been charged in that attack on American democracy makes my blood boil, makes me sick to my stomach. And yes, if these allegations are true, it breaks my heart. Participating in the siege on the Capitol in any way was a betrayal of everything we stand for, the oath (and) the law.”
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot responded to the allegations Friday, calling Chwiesiuk a “total disgrace to the badge.” She announced Friday that the city won’t tolerate hate of any kind, particularly none from its police officers.
“This isn’t about a single police officer charged with a heinous crime, a heinous assault on our democracy,” she said at a press conference. “We have to stand in one clear, united voice and say, ‘Not in this time, not in this place, will we ever tolerate hate.'”
Tim Grace, an attorney representing Chwiesiuk, told CBS 2 that his client “was exercising his First Amendment rights, and he recognizes that perhaps breaching the steps of the Capitol went a little too far. He did not engage in any violence…He’s disappointed he didn’t use better judgement.”
Newsweek reached out to CPD as well as the Justice Department for any additional remarks Saturday morning.
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