A man who wore a shirt that read “Back the Blue” to a political rally has been arrested for allegedly assaulting police officers during the Jan 6. Capitol riot.
Beyond assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, 35-year-old Samuel Lazar faces other felony charges, such as obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder and knowingly entering and remaining on restricted grounds, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Columbia. Lazar was also reportedly caught on video bragging about using mace on police officers, according to the Huffington Post. Since the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, Lazar attended a number of political events in support of former President Donald Trump before he was arrested in Pennsylvania last week.
New case: The FBI have arrested the 549th person related to Jan 6th. Samuel Lazar pic.twitter.com/uks1lJRQYV
— Seamus Hughes (@SeamusHughes) July 27, 2021
After Lazar was featured in a Jan. 10 story by Lancaster Online, online sleuths we’re able to find a video of Lazar encouraging people to break through the police barrier to the Capitol while holding what appeared to be a bottle of mace, according to the Huffington Post. Another video showed Lazar reportedly claiming he “maced ’em [law enforcement officers] right the f*ck back” and called politicians “tyrants.” He also said the mob should “hang these motherf*ckers” in the Capitol building, the Huffington Post reported.
Photo evidence shows Lazar has frequented events featuring Republican Pennsylvania State Sen. Doug Mastriano, who was also in attendance at protests on Jan. 6 and entered restricted Capitol grounds, according to the Huffington Post. Mastriano even paid for charter busses to take people to and from Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 to attend Trump’s rally, the Huffington Post noted. (RELATED: ‘Democracies Are Not Defined By Our Bad Days’: Adam Kinzinger Breaks Down During Jan. 6 Hearing)
BREAKING: Trump fanatic Samuel Lazar has been arrested for attacking cops at the Capitol on Jan. 6. #FacePaintBlowhard https://t.co/PZqZtjcMyk
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) July 27, 2021
Lazar wore a “Back the Blue” shirt to an event featuring Mastriano in June, where Mastriano kept his distance from Lazar and his family because of his actions, according to a Facebook statement and video from Lazar’s siblings, the Huffington Post reported.
The Jan. 6 select committee held its first hearing Tuesday, featuring opening statements and testimony from four police officers who were in the Capitol building during the riot.