Peter Stager, a 44-year-old Arkansas man, has been handed down a four-year prison sentence following his involvement in the infamous January 6 riot at the US Capitol. In a striking scene of chaos, Stager was identified as the man who had attacked a police officer using a flagpole.
Peter Stager’s Assault: A Rioter’s Guilty Plea
Stager admitted guilt to the charge of “assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a deadly or dangerous weapon,” as per a statement released by the Department of Justice. This Arkansas Capitol rioter was part of a large, weapon-wielding mob that launched an assault on the police officers guarding the Lower West Terrace entrance of the Capitol building on that fateful day.
Court documents shed light on the timing and specifics of the rioter’s actions. “At 4:27 p.m., police officers had been defending the archway leading from the Lower West Terrace to the Capitol’s interior for nearly two hours, with rioters repeatedly attempting to breach the entrance,” the release mentioned. It further highlighted Stager’s position at the bottom of the steps leading to the archway, flagpole in hand.
A Brutal Attack on Law Enforcement
The report depicted a gruesome picture of the attack led by Stager and his co-defendants, who broke through the police line and pulled out an officer, identified in court records as B.M. The officer was dragged facedown and headfirst into the rioting crowd, where the Arkansas Capitol rioter raised his flagpole and struck the downed officer at least three times.
