Ridgefield Man Indicted In Assault On Police During Capitol Riot

RIDGEFIELD, CT — A Ridgefield man accused of using a police riot shield to push back against a police officer and pin him inside a door frame during the break-in at the U.S. Capitol building last month has been indicted by a federal grand jury for the District of Columbia.

As alleged in the charging documents, on Jan. 6, a video posted to YouTube showed Patrick Edward McCaughey III, 23, in the front row of a large group of rioters attempting to break through the line of uniformed law enforcement officers who were in place to prevent rioters from entering the U.S. Capitol.

The indictment charges McCaughey with two counts civil disorder; two counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon; disorderly conduct in a capitol building; obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, with a deadly or dangerous weapon; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, with a deadly or dangerous weapon; and act of physical violence in the capitol grounds or buildings.

According to the original complaint, while McCaughey pinned Washington D.C. Metro Officer Daniel Hodges to the door from the lower west terrace of the Capitol with his shield, "a separate rioter was violently ripping off Officer Hodges gas mask exposing Officer Hodges' bloodied mouth."

McCaughey was part of a crowd that was not lawfully authorized to enter or remain in the Capitol and, prior to entering the building, no members of the crowd submitted to security screenings or weapons checks, according to court documents.

On Jan. 19, McCaughey was charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees; restricted building or grounds; civil disorder; and violent entry or disorderly conduct. New charges in the indictment accuse the Ridgefield man of being "knowingly engaged in an act of physical violence within the United States Capitol Grounds and any of the Capitol Buildings."

The Metro Police circulated photos of a man prosecutors say is McCaughey on social media after the Jan. 6 riot. According to the affidavit, the Ridgefield man was identified by two anonymous tipsters who saw the photos circulated by Metro.