A former assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted U.S. Capitol rioters got better bail than some of the accused in the January 6 case after he allegedly stabbed a driver in a fit of road rage on Tuesday.
The number of protesters facing federal charges has surpassed 1,100, with more than half pleading guilty. Over 100 have been convicted on all charges, but many still face trial, and some are held without bail.
Meanwhile, former assistant U.S. attorney Patrick Scruggs—who prosecuted some of those accused of storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021—has been charged with aggravated battery, aggravated assault and armed burglary. Scruggs, who spent 10 years with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, posted $65,000 bail the same day he was arrested in Tampa, Florida.
He is accused of breaking the window of a vehicle that hit his sedan on Interstate 275 on Tuesday morning and stabbing the driver, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Scruggs also allegedly attempted to stab a couple who stopped to help the victim and then fled the scene. He was apprehended by police shortly after and arrested on charges of aggravated battery, aggravated assault and armed burglary. The victim was hospitalized for serious injuries.
Scruggs was released from the Pinellas County Jail on Tuesday evening after posting the $65,000 bail. He posted it before an advisory hearing so his bond doesn’t include any conditions, but it’s possible a motion will be filed to add conditions at a later date.
Patrick Scruggs’ booking photo. The attorney was arrested on charges of aggravated assault, aggravated battery and armed burglary.
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office
Newsweek reached out to the Pinellas County Clerk of the Circuit Court via email for comment.
Alleged U.S. Capitol rioters weren’t granted the same liberty as Scruggs, as some were held without bail as they awaited their trials. Most rioters who were arrested received some form of bail, but those who engaged in the most “violent acts” were detained without bond, D.C. news station WUSA 9 reported.
Protesters who “actually assaulted police officers and broke through windows, doors, and barricades,” as well as those who “aided, conspired with, planned, or coordinated such actions,” are able to be held without bail before their trial, as they “are in a different category of dangerousness than those who cheered on the violence or entered the Capitol after others cleared the way,” according to the United States Court of Appeals.
Scruggs’ case has angered some of the Capitol rioters, one of whom took to X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday to express grievances.
“Meet the guy who prosecuted me in Tampa for walking in a building on January 6th,” Adam Johnson, also known as “Lectern Guy” posted Wednesday. Johnson, the man seen in the viral photo walking around with then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s podium on January 6, was sentenced in February 2022 to 75 days in prison and fined $5,000 for his role in the January 6 riot.
Meet the guy who prosecuted me in Tampa for walking in a building on January 6th.
My crimes were so egregious that he demanded I wear an ankle monitor, be drugged tested at random, surrender my passports, be restricted to middle district of Florida, and given a nightly curfew.…
— The Lectern Guy🇺🇸 (@lecternleader) September 27, 2023
“My crimes were so egregious that he demanded I wear an ankle monitor, be drugged tested at random, surrender my passports, be restricted to middle district of Florida, and given a nightly curfew,” Johnson wrote on X. “What restrictions do you think he should get for stabbing a man repeatedly in public?”
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