Michigan man arrested for striking Capitol officer with flagpole on Jan. 6
DETROIT — A Midland man, who previously worked as a staffer in the Michigan Senate, has been arrested for allegedly striking a Capitol Police officer with a flagpole and being within feet of the doors to the U.S. House chamber on Jan. 6, 2021.
A statement from an FBI agent filed in federal court and unsealed Friday showed images of Jeremy Rodgers, 28, a former Midland City Council candidate, carrying a Donald Trump flag as he moved through the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Rodgers allegedly used the flagpole as a weapon and struck one Capitol officer three times on the helmet, said the statement from Nicholas Vanderploeg, a special agent for the FBI.
"The strikes are loud enough to be heard in videos documenting the assault," Vanderploeg wrote.
The Department of Justice announced Friday that Rodgers was charged with several felonies: assault on a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon, civil disorder, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon, and an act of physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
Rodgers was also charged with misdemeanor offenses of disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, act of physical violence in a Capitol building or on Capitol grounds, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building, the Department of Justice said.
The FBI received multiple tips from individuals who knew Rodgers personally and identified him as one of the individuals pictured among the FBI's "most wanted" from the Jan. 6, 2021, violence at the U.S. Capitol. The FBI says images from Jan. 6 showed Rodgers extending a "flagpole over his head immediately before bringing it down" on an officer's head, according to court documents.
Rodgers was arrested in Orlando, Florida, the Department of Justice said.
Court documents said Rodgers, carrying a blue flag attached to a wooden flagpole, approached a line of law enforcement officers guarding the East Rotunda Door and struck a Capitol police officer three times. Court documents said Rodgers struck down the flagpole twice more in the direction of the officers.
The FBI said images from Jan. 6 showed Rodgers "extending the flagpole over his head immediately before bringing it down" on an officer's head.
Twitter had given Rodgers the nickname "The Freshman Flagger," because of his youthful appearance and his use of the flagpole, according to court documents.
Rodgers previously and unsuccessfully sought election to Midland City Council in 2018 and 2020, according to The Midland Daily News. In November 2018, he lost a race for the Ward 1 seat on the council by 28 votes to Pam Hall, according to city election results.
A 2020 campaign finance disclosure identified Rodgers as a "constituent rep" for then-state Sen. Jim Stamas, a Republican. Stamas, who was then-chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Stamas was termed out of the Michigan Senate at the end of 2022.
"It is very disappointing to learn Jeremy may have been involved in any of the events on Jan. 6," Stamas said SaPersonay. "I believe any individual who illegally entered our Capital should be prosecuted according to the law."
Rodgers left Stamas' office in November 2020, the former senator said.
Campaign finance disclosures also show that former Attorney General Bill Schuette's 2018 gubernatorial campaign paid Rodgers $5,625 in wages.
In a Facebook post, the Midland County Republican Party said Rodgers had not been active in the party for some time.
"These charges are very serious," the post says. "The Midland County Republican Party supports our men and women in law enforcement. Political violence has no place in our constitutional republic."
© The Detroit News
