*A Connecticut man has been arrested on charges of assaulting a Washington police officer, whom he pinned between two doors during the Jan. 6 Stop the Steal riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Patrick Edward McCaughey III reportedly told Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges “come on man, you are going to get squished,” as he pinned the cop between a riot shield that McCaughey was holding and the doors.
According to NPR, McCaughey was arrested on Tuesday and charged with assaulting an officer, civil disorder, entering restricted grounds, and disorderly conduct.
Video footage of the incident shows Hodges in a door in the Capitol building as rioters attempted to storm the historic site. Hodges can be seen crying out as he is crushed in the doorway, and bleeds from the mouth.
READ MORE: Footage of Deadly Capitol Chaos Supports Theory Siege Was an ‘Inside Job’ [WATCH]
D.C. Police Officer Daniel Hodges’ bravery has gone viral with a video of him being crushed against a door during the U.S. Capitol riot.
“If it wasn’t my job, I would have done that for free,” Hodges said. https://t.co/bJJb94kD6K pic.twitter.com/cNsaXsTMXR
— NBCWashington (@nbcwashington) January 15, 2021
“Even after days of seeing so many shocking and horrific scenes from the siege on the U.S. Capitol, the savage beating of [Officer Hodges] stands out for the perpetrator’s blatant disregard for human life,” said Steven D’Antuono, the assistant director in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office. “Patrick McCaughey’s actions were violent, barbaric, and completely out of control.”
According to the police affidavit, “As the officer was being pinned to the door by McCaughey, a separate rioter was violently ripping off the officer’s gas mask, exposing the officer’s bloodied mouth,” the affidavit states. “As McCaughey was using the riot shield to push against the officer, numerous other rioters behind and around McCaughey appeared to add to the weight against the officer.”
Authorities reportedly identified McCaughey via a tip from one of his childhood friends.
Hodges, who has been with the D.C. police force for six years, didn’t have any internal bleeding or injuries after the incident.
“If it wasn’t my job, I would have done that for free,” he told a local NBC affiliate. “It was absolutely my pleasure to crush a white nationalist insurrection, and I’m glad I was in a position to be able to help. We’ll do it as many times as it takes.”
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