Trump supporter who wore ‘back the blue’ shirt is arrested for attacking cops on Jan. 6

A Trump supporter who was caught on video bragging that he pepper sprayed police during the riot at the U.S. Capitol has been arrested by federal authorities in Pennsylvania this Monday, HuffPost reports.

Samuel Lazar attended numerous pro-Trump political events in the months after the riot. In June, he showed up at an event that featured Doug Mastriano, a Pennsylvania state senator who pushed conspiracy theories about mass voter fraud in the 2020 election and chartered buses to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 using campaign cash. He was also seen in the area as the riot on Jan. 6 began heating up and reportedly entered restricted Capitol grounds.

At the June event, HuffPost reports that Lazar showed up wearing a “Back the Blue” T-shirt.

From HuffPost:

Online sleuths surfaced video of Lazar encouraging the mob to push against police lines, trying to snatch away a barrier protected by a line of police officers while holding a bottle of what appeared to be mace, and helping the mob use a giant Trump sign as a bludgeon against the police line.

Later, Lazar was recorded saying that the crowd “maced ’em [law enforcement officers] right the f**k back” and talking about how the mob should “hang these motherf**kers” in the Capitol building, whom he called “tyrants.”

Lazar is facing felony charges, including assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers as well as obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder. He also faces a charge of knowingly entering and remaining on restricted grounds.

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.