Photo via the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation
February 8, 2021, 1:52 pm*
Another notable insurrectionist has been arrested after a friend saw photos of him wielding a wooden baton in the middle of the pro-Trump mob as well as spraying mace at a line of Capitol police officers and tipped off the FBI. Peter Schwartz’s face was caught in a fairly clear photo along with his yellow and blue plaid shirt, which can also be seen pointing a can of mace at the cops as a long stream of the chemical substance appears to hit one in the chest, spraying up into his face.
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Schwartz’s friend says that he bragged about participating in the assault and that the 47-year-old owes them money.
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“All the violence from the left was terrorism,” Swartz posted on Facebook the day after the insurrection, according to the criminal complaint. “What happened yesterday was the opening of a war. I was there and whether people will acknowledge it or not we are now at war. It would be wise to be ready!”
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Ironically, this man was found guilty in 2020 of making a terroristic threat to kill his girlfriend and her son, as well as illegal possession of a handgun, BuzzFeed News reports. He was released from prison early due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to his friend, though BuzzFeed was unable to verify this detail. The friend also claimed that Schwartz “was supposed to be at a rehabilitation facility” on January 6.
The same man can be seen in video footage macing the cops again later on January 6 from behind a line of his fellow rioters. Schwartz is now being charged with assaulting police as well as the standard trespassing and disorderly conduct charges that all the arrested insurrectionists have faced. On top of that, a warrant was issued for his arrest in late January for violating the terms of his early release.
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Schwartz is currently in custody pending a detention hearing on Wednesday. He could face 20 years in prison for those charges, particularly for assaulting multiple police officers with his mace.
So far, over 200 people have been arrested and charged for their roles in the assault on the Capitol, with many more likely to come. The criminal complaint against Schwartz even states that his arrest was delayed due to the massive volume of tips received by the FBI from January 6 to 26.
“Due to the volume of tips provided to the FBI since January 6, 2021 – which stands at over 150,000 as of January 26, 2021 – the FBI was not able to immediately contact W-1 regarding the information that W-1 provided and did not immediately link SCHWARTZ to the individual who repeatedly maced officers at the Capitol.”
*First Published: February 8, 2021, 1:51 pm
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