Retired Boston cop arrested for assault on a cop during Jan. 6 riot

A retired Boston cop was arrested Thursday for assaulting a police officer with a chair during the Jan. 6 riots at the US Capitol, reports said.

James Robert Fisher, 52, was busted Thursday morning by FBI agents at his Plymouth, Mass. home after eagle-eyed online sleuths tracked him down, according to NBC.

A current Boston cop who knew Fisher identified him afterward.

Fisher wore a red jacket and a beanie sporting the logos of several Boston teams on Jan. 6, NBC said, as he and other fanatical supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed and trashed the Capitol Building after the Florida man’s 2020 election loss.

During the mayhem, Fisher tossed a chair at a cop who was chasing a pepper-spray wielding protestor.

Then he assaulted him in a confrontation that ended up with Fisher on the ground.



In this image from U.S. Capitol Police video, released and annotated by the Justice Department in the Statement of Facts supporting an arrest warrant, Joseph Robert Fisher appears inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington.
James Robert Fisher allegedly tossed a chair at a Capitol police officer trying to apprehend another rioter.
AP

Joseph Robert Fisher is pictured in the area of the Washington Monument on Jan. 6, 2021, and, right - his driver's license photo
Fisher was arrested Thursday by FBI agents at his Plymouth, Massachusetts home.
FBI

Federal authorities have charged him with assaulting an officer and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder, among other things, the Boston Globe said.

Fisher left the Boston Police Department in 2016 after more than two decades on the force – including the K-9 unit, according to a department spokesman.

Fisher’s cell phone records show he was inside the building, and he was caught on video tossing the chair.


Former Boston Police Department officer Joseph Robert Fisher (circled) captured on surveillance video during Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Fisher is now facing criminal charges in connection with the riot.
During the Jan. 6 riots, Trump’s fanatical supporters stormed and trashed the US Capitol.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

The disgraced Beantown cop often found his way into the media before the Jan. 6 attack, according to NBC.

He was once featured as a police expert in a true crime TV show, and appeared in the background of a 2013 press conference as Massachusetts authorities pursued the Boston Marathon bomber.

Fisher joined the Boston PD on Dec. 21, 1994 and retired Dec. 14, 2016, according to the Globe. For the last year-and-a-half of his career, he was assigned to the “medically incapacitated section,” the Globe said.

Fisher now joins a group of about 1,000 other people who have been charged with federal crimes in connection with the riots, which interrupted the certification of President Joe Bide’s electoral victory and led to to five deaths and scores of injuries.


Pro-Trump protesters gather in front of the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. Trump supporters gathered in the nation's capital to protest the ratification of President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory over President Trump in the 2020 election.
About 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes after the riots.
Getty Images

Authorities have made new arrests almost every week. And more than 540 defendants have already pleaded guilty.