A former Boston police officer has pleaded guilty to felony charges stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, during which he assaulted a Capitol police officer, according to the Washington D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Plymouth resident Joseph Fisher, 52, pleaded guilty to eight felony counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers, one felony count of obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder and six other misdemeanor charges, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a press release.
Fisher entered the U.S. Capitol Building around 2:25 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021, via the Senate Wing Door, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. That’s approximately 25 minutes after the first people breached the building, according to CNN.
Fisher was in the Capitol Visitor Center’s lobby when an altercation began between a Capitol police officer and other rioters a little before 2:40 p.m., the U.S. Attorney’s office said. As an officer pursued a rioter who had used pepper spray, Fisher pushed a chair into the officer before starting a physical fight with him. Fisher left the Capitol Building soon after.
Federal investigators charged Fisher as a Jan. 6 rioter after another Boston officer who worked with him identified him through images from the riot that depicted a man wearing a beanie with several Boston sports logos, MassLive reported previously. They were then able to confirm his presence at the Capitol that day using cell phone records they obtained through a search warrant.
The FBI arrested Fisher on March 30, 2023, in Plymouth, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. He is set to be sentenced in U.S. District Court on May 24.
At least two other Boston police officers have been found to have been present during the Jan. 6 insurrection, according to The Boston Globe.
