Former police officer, charged after Capitol insurrection, disputes call for rearrest

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - A former Rocky Mount police officer indicted on charges related to the January 6 attack on the Capitol has responded to a prosecutor’s call for his rearrest.

Last week, new documents filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. revealed the results of an FBI search of the home of Thomas Robertson. According to the FBI, agents reported finding a loaded M4 rifle, ammunition and a partially assembled pipe bomb. While investigating his alleged involvement in the Capitol attack, FBI agents also said they found evidence Robertson has been buying and selling guns online.

Prosecutors claim Robertson violated the conditions of his release. They made a motion for the court to issue a warrant for his arrest, “...for substantial violations of the terms of his pre-trial release, and to revoke his pre-trial release order and detain him pending trial.”

The prosecutors went on to write in the document, “The defendant’s possession of an explosive device and firearms, coupled with his extreme rhetoric advocating for violence indicating no remorse illustrate that the pending charges are unlikely to serve as a deterrent to future violence. For these reasons, the defendant should be detained.”

Since then, Robertson and his attorney have responded. In a new document (below), Robertson and attorney Mark Rollins claim the government has not obtained any new information that supports detaining the defendant now.

The document goes on to outline Robertson’s military service and his work as a police officer. The response claims Robertson did not possess any guns or destructive devices, making the argument that ordering guns on the internet does not equate to possession.

They also say the gun found in his home during the recent search actually belonged to Robertson’s son, whom they said knew his father would be out of the home most of the day. Robertson and his attorney went on to say the semi-assembled pipe bomb cannot be classified as a “destructive device” as they claim it was not active and used as a prop for teaching law enforcement students. They also argue the device was present during the FBI’s initial search of the home in January.

Amidst other arguments against the motion, Robertson and Rollins say the defendant is not a member of any organization, such as the Proud Boys, and that he is a proud veteran and antique gun lover - saying the guns he allegedly purchased but did not possess “were antique guns from the World War II era.”

Robertson and his co-defendant, Jacob Fracker, were scheduled for a hearing last week, but it has been pushed to August.

No orders have yet been filed on the prosecutor’s motion.

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