A United States man accused of using a stun gun against Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fanone has pleaded guilty to his role in the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021.
Daniel “DJ” Rodriguez, a 40-year-old from Fontana, California, submitted his decision to a US District Court on Tuesday, becoming one of nearly 500 individuals to enter a guilty plea for taking part in the riot at the US Capitol building, led by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.
More than 985 defendants have been arrested so far in relation to the January 6 attack, according to estimates from the US Justice Department. Rodriguez was faced with four federal charges, including conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, obstruction of justice and assaulting a law enforcement officer.
He is alleged to have played a central role in the attack on Fanone, a law-enforcement officer who has since become a prominent figure outspoken about the violence that unfolded that day.
On the second anniversary of the attack last month, Fanone was among the 14 individuals to receive the Presidential Citizens Medal from current President Joe Biden, the second-highest civilian award in the US.
Fanone said he suffered a heart attack and brain injury as a result of the Capitol riot, which saw Trump supporters attempt to disrupt Congress’s certification of the 2020 presidential election results.
Rodriguez had previously admitted to using a stun gun on Fanone in an interview with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), after he was arrested in March 2021. But lawyers for the defence attempted to bar Rodriguez’s words from being used in court, claiming the FBI used “psychologically coercive tactics” to get their client to talk.
Prosecutors said that, in the autumn before the Capitol attack, Rodriguez and others organised a group chat on the encrypted messaging service Telegram. They named the forum “Patriots 45 MAGA Gang”, a reference to Trump – the 45th president – and his slogan “Make America Great Again”, abbreviated as MAGA.
There, Rodriguez was among those posting about plans to attend the January 6 Stop the Steal rally in Washington, DC, where Trump was scheduled to speak. The then-president had been spreading the false claim that his defeat in the 2020 election was due to “rigged” results and fraud.
The rally was set for the same day as Congress’s certification of the Electoral College votes, showing Democrat Joe Biden to have won the presidency.
