Port: Former North Dakota man, charged with assaulting a cop on Jan. 6, honored law enforcement in 2020
MINOT, N.D. — According to a news release from the Department of Justice, Rockne Earles, formerly of Oriska, North Dakota, was arrested in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on felony charges related to assaulting a police officer and breaching the U.S. Capitol.
“In a publicly available video, Earles is seen grabbing and throwing a U.S. Capitol Police Officer (Victim Officer 1) against the Northwest stairs underneath the West Front scaffolding outside the U.S. Capitol Building,” the DOJ news release says. “In the video, Earles grabs and throws Victim Officer 1 to the ground using what appears to be a significant amount of force. Two other rioters joined Earles in shoving and assaulting Victim Officer 1. Victim Officer 1 landed on the steps and then attempted to escape away from the rioters.”
The DOJ didn’t provide a link to this video, but in charging documents (see below) the DOJ identified Earles with a photograph from the riot as a man wearing a black jacket and goggles.
A video posted on Twitter shows that same man throwing a capitol police officer to the ground. The video matches what the DOJ describes in its press release as Earles’ actions.
