Rocky Mount officer says he and colleague fired for participating in U.S. Capitol riot

By MIKE ALLEN Jan 23, 2021 Updated Jan 23, 2021



A photo of Jacob Fracker, left, and Thomas “T.J.” Robertson inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 that was part of the complaint filed against them in federal court. The photo has been cropped to remove an obscene gesture that Fracker was making. {but not too well}

U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia exhibit

Rocky Mount has fired two town police officers who have been charged by federal authorities with participating in the Jan. 6 riot in the U.S. Capitol, one of the officers said. ... “We were both terminated,” wrote Thomas “T.J.” Robertson, who until Friday morning was a sergeant with the Rocky Mount Police Department.

Robertson shared an excerpt from a letter citing “conduct unbecoming an officer” as the reason for his firing. The letter states he will be terminated Tuesday.

The town is giving the officers the chance to resign before that date, “or in my case retire,” Robertson wrote Saturday. “I will not be resigning. I’ll fight this at every step.”

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Late Friday, Robertson provided The Roanoke Times with the written statement he gave to town officials Friday morning about what he and Fracker did at the Capitol on Jan. 6. The statement is consistent with accounts he has relayed to The Roanoke Times in interviews.

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