Prosecutor says man charged over actions in Capitol riot tried to flee to Switzerland

A man arrested and charged Friday over his alleged actions at the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol attempted to flee to Switzerland following the mob attack, according to a federal prosecutor. 

NBC’s New York City affiliate station, WNBC, reported that Jeffrey Sabol turned himself into the FBI in Rye, N.Y., on Friday, and William Sweeney, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York office, confirmed that FBI agents took Sabol into custody. 

“We will continue to support our colleagues from our Washington Field Office in bringing all those from our area who participated to justice,” Sweeney said in a statement shared on Twitter Friday. 

ADIC Sweeney’s statement following Jeffrey Sabol’s arrest for his role in the riot and assault on the Capitol:

“We will continue to support our colleagues from our Washington Field Office in bringing all those from our area who participated to justice.”

Full statement: pic.twitter.com/IrATefnvzp

— FBI New York (@NewYorkFBI) January 22, 2021

During Sabol’s arraignment hearing conducted over video conference and phone in U.S. District Court in White Plains, N.Y., Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Gianforti said that video from the riot allegedly shows Sabol pulling a police officer down the stairs, while another rioter beats the officer with a flag, according to WNBC. 

Gianforti added that Sabol allegedly bought a plane ticket from from Boston to Zurich following the riot and at some point attempted to commit suicide, CNBC reported. 

“He has the financial wherewithal to flee these charges,” the prosecutor said during the hearing. 

Prosecutors also argued that Sabol could have “assaulted another police officer” with a baton he was allegedly seen carrying during the riot. 

According to CNBC, Sabol, a geophysicist from Colorado, told authorities that he was “in a fit of rage” when he allegedly dragged the police officer. Gianforti added that Sabol admitted he does not have clear memories from the rest of that day. 

Judge Andrew Kause ruled at Friday’s hearing that Sabol, who faces charges of obstructing a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder, will be held without bond on a criminal complaint filed against him in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., citing that Sabol could be a flight risk. 

CNBC reported that Sabol, 51, is a divorced father of three who grew up in New York state and whose sister is a colonel in the Army. 

According to WNBC, he was hospitalized after reportedly attempting to kill himself, and was later admitted to a psychiatric center. 

Sabol’s federal defense attorney reportedly argued Friday that the man is now stable after spending a week at the psychiatric center, and had requested that his client be released on a $200,000 bond, according to CNBC. 

Dozens of arrests have already been made in connection with the violent pro-Trump mob attack. Five people died amid the chaos, including a Capitol Police officer who was injured while responding to the rioting and a woman shot by a plainclothes officer.