One of the two Virginia police officers arrested Wednesday in connection with last week’s deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol is a current member of the Virginia National Guard, officials confirmed Thursday.
Jacob Fracker has been charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. The Virginia National Guard said Thursday that he is a corporal in the Virginia Guard.
“The Virginia National Guard will conduct an investigation into the matter, and we will be able to release more information when that is complete,” the Guard said in a statement.
Fracker, whose status as a guardsman was first reported by Military.com, is the first known person currently in the military to be arrested in connection with the Capitol assault.
Fracker is an infantryman in a traditional National Guard status who normally drills one weekend a month and does two weeks of annual training, the Virginia Guard said.
He is not currently on duty with Virginia National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., it added.
Last week’s attack has raised questions about the extent of extremism in the military and among veterans after several rioters were identified as former members of the military.
The woman who was fatally shot by Capitol Police while trying to breach the door to the Speaker’s Lobby was an Air Force veteran, and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel was arrested Sunday after being photographed on the Senate floor wearing tactical gear and carrying plastic zip ties used by law enforcement as handcuffs.
Another man arrested over the weekend was identified as a Navy veteran.
At least one active-duty service member, an Army psychological operations officer, is under investigation by the Army for her involvement in the rally that preceded the riot, though she insists she did not enter the Capitol.
Fracker is an officer with the Rocky Mount Police Department. He and fellow Rocky Mount Police Department officer Thomas Robertson were arrested Wednesday after they were reportedly photographed inside the Capitol making an obscene gesture in front of the John Stark statute.
Both men have been placed on administrative from the police department leave while the town reviews the case.