FBI releases photos of suspect who crushed Capitol officer in doorway
WASHINGTON, DC -- The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and FBI Washington Field Office are seeking the public's assistance in identifying the suspect that attacked a Capitol police officer as he wad being crushed by a door during the Jan. 6 siege.
"During the insurrection at the United States Capitol, the suspect assaulted and used a clear police shield to pin MPD Officer Daniel Hodges in a door jam," the release shared by authorities says.
Two photos of the suspect were included in the release, which the police department also shared on Twitter.
*UPDATE* Please see the release for more information: https://t.co/bLNdKLSVUr pic.twitter.com/97pMop0kqa
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) January 16, 2021
ABC News spoke to Hodges, 32, after a video taken during the attack on the Capitol showed him screaming in pain while being crushed in a doorway and beaten up by an angry mob of President Donald Trump's supporters. Hodges stood in the way of the violent protesters as they tried to enter the Capitol to stop the 2020 election from being affirmed.
As Hodges was pinned in the doorway, screaming for help, a protester tried to rip off his gas mask and started assaulting him.
"The guy in front of me, that guy, he was he was practically foaming at the mouth. He was screaming and just grabbed my arm, grabbed my filter on my masks, started beating my head against the doorframe and ripping it off as best he could," Hodges said. "Once he got my mask off, he also was able to rip away my right baton from me and started beating me in the head with it."
He said some of the protesters were "absolutely crazed," and at one point he thought he was going to die.
"I thought, 'this could be the end,' or 'I could not get out of this completely intact,'" he said, adding that in the end, he's proud that he and his fellow officers "defended a democracy."
