WASHINGTON — A former police officer from Virginia pleaded guilty to a felony on Friday, admitting that he and another former cop stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 in an attempt to block the certification of Joe Biden's presidential victory.
Jacob Fracker, a Donald Trump supporter and former member of the Rocky Mount Police Department in Virginia, admitted on Friday that he participated in a conspiracy to “corruptly obstruct, influence, and impede an official proceeding" when he entered the U.S. Capitol as Congress was certifying the electoral college vote. As part of a plea deal, Fracker will cooperate with the government.
Fracker, who was also a corporal in the Virginia National Guard, was arrested last January and shortly after fired by the police department. Fracker pleaded guilty before Judge Royce C. Lamberth.
Fracker admitted that he and his former co-worker (and current co-defendant) Thomas Robertson entered into a conspiracy to obstruct the congressional proceeding by bringing tactical gear, including gas masks, to D.C. and forcibly storming past police to gain access to the Capitol.
Fracker also admitted in writing that he "made social media posts that supported and encouraged the mob’s actions at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021."
The last-minute plea deal came weeks before Fracker and Robertson were set to go on trial on April 5. Fracker will now likely testify against his former colleague and co-defendant.
Fracker pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal information that was filed ahead of his virtual court appearance. He had been facing four counts: obstruction of an official proceeding, entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building. Last month, Judge Christopher R. Cooper denied a motion to dismiss the obstruction charge.
Federal prosecutors said that Fracker “bragged on Facebook about taking a ‘piss’ in ‘Nancy P’s toilet’” and assisted rioters who had been hit by tear spray. Fracker, prosecutors say, posted on Facebook: “to anyone who’s possibly concerned about the picture of me going around…. sorry I hate freedom? Sorry I fought hard for it and lost friends for it?”
Robertson, according to court documents filed Friday, teamed up with Fracker and a neighbor to obstruct the proceeding, and was carrying a wooden stick when he stormed the Capitol building. He began talking about a violent reaction to Trump's 2020 election loss because he believed Trump's false claims that the election was stolen, prosecutors said.
"A legitimate republic stands on 4 boxes. The soapbox, the ballot box, the jury box, and then the cartridge box. We just moved to step 3. Step 4 will not be pretty," Robertson allegedly wrote after Trump lost the November 2020 election. "I cannot speak for others, but being disenfranchised by fraud is my hard line. I’ve spent most of my adult life fighting a counter insurgency. Im about to become part of one, and a very effective one.”
A few weeks before the Capitol attack, Robertson referenced an “open armed rebellion” and “insurgency” and wrote on Facebook he was "prepared to start one here and know a bunch of like minded and trained individuals.”
More than 775 people have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack. The total number of people who either unlawfully entered the building or assaulted law enforcement officers outside tops 2,500. Over 225 people have pleaded guilty to an offense in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, and more than 50 have received sentences that include incarceration.
