California Man Indicted for Assaulting MPD Officer During U.S. Capitol Breach

District of Columbia -- Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s Office FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, April 1, 2021

California Man Indicted for Assaulting MPD Officer During U.S. Capitol Breach

Assailant Assaulted Officer with Electroshock Device after Others Dragged the Officer into the Crowd, Punched him, Stole his Police Radio and Badge and Threatened His Life

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment charging a California man for his assault of Metropolitan Police Department Officer Michael Fanone, as well as other crimes, during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 that disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the process of affirming presidential election results.

Daniel Rodriguez, 38, of Fontana, California, was indicted on one count of obstructing an official proceeding; one count of impeding, obstructing, or interfering with a law enforcement officer during the commission of a of civil disorder; one count of assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon; one count of theft of government property; one count of destruction of government property; and three counts of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building without lawful authority with a deadly or dangerous weapon.  On March 31, 2021, the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office arrested Rodriguez.  Rodriguez subsequently appeared before a federal magistrate judge in the Central District of California, where he was ordered detained pending further hearings on Friday, April 2.

This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterterrorism Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Los Angeles and Washington Field Offices, along with the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. 

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
Topic(s): 
Counterterrorism
National Security
Component(s): 
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
National Security Division (NSD)
USAO - District of Columbia
Press Release Number: 
21-045