A US Capitol police officer was arrested Friday on obstruction of justice charges after it was discovered he told a man involved in the January 6 insurrection to delete social media posts about it.

Michael Angelo Riley, who spent about 25 years with United States Capitol Police, allegedly told a man who participated in the riot to remove posts from Facebook that showed him inside the Capitol, according to court documents.

He is also accused of later deleting those incriminating messages. He is due to appear in federal court in Washington later Friday.

Riley, 50, was assigned to the departments K-9 unit at the time of the riot and responded to a report of a pipe bomb, allegedly told an acquaintance the next day to scrub his social media of evidence.

‘Hey, im a capitol police officer who agrees with your political stance,’ the officer allegedly wrote. ‘Take down the part about being in the building they are currently investigating and everyone who was in the building is going to be charged. Just looking out!’

The indictment reveals dozens of messages from Riley sent to the unidentified man, encouraging him to remove incriminating photos and commentary. He told the man the FBI was investigating and looking to identify participants in the riot.

The arrest is particularly notable because many of his colleagues with the Capitol Police were severely beaten and injured during the attacks. The insurrection left dozens of police officers beaten and bruised by the pro-Trump crowd, some of which came armed with pipes, bats and bear spray.

Five people died from the riot, including a Capitol police officer, Brian Sicknick, who died on Jan. 7.

According to he court documents, Riley and the man later messaged about the death of the US Capitol Police Officer.

As the pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol one officer was beaten and shocked with a stun gun repeatedly until he had a heart attack. Others trying to help were overrun by the rioters.

Over 600 people face charges in the attack, in which a mob loyal to then-President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol, battled police and tried to stop the certification of current President, Joe Biden.

Riley has been placed on administrative leave pending the resolution of his criminal case.

Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger, in a statement, said, ‘Obstruction of Justice is a very serious allegation.’

‘The department was notified about this investigation several weeks ago. Upon his arrest, the officer was placed on administrative leave pending the completion of the case. The USCP’s Office of Professional Responsibility will then open an administrative investigation.’

Riley and the man he was messaging did not know each other, but became Facebook friends earlier that month. Both were avid fisherman and members of fishing-related Facebook groups, the indictment says.

The man was arrested on January 19 by the FBI and interviewed about his actions. He later told Riley the FBI were ‘very curious that I had been speaking to you,’ adding that they were going to ask him about it.

Riley said: ‘That’s fine,’ but later deleted all of his Facebook messages to and from the man.

This is a breaking news story check back for updates.

Source: Read Full Article