Former VA Police Officer Pleads Guilty To Trying To Stop Jan. 6 Vote Count

WASHINGTON, DC — Jacob Fracker, a former police officer from Virginia, admitted in federal court on Friday that he sought to disrupt the congressional vote count of the 2020 presidential election on Jan. 6, 2021.

Fracker's admission was part of a plea deal he made in exchange for agreeing to plead guilty to a felony charge of conspiracy to disrupt a congressional proceeding at the U.S. Capitol, according to court documents.

Fracker traveled to Washington, D.C. on the morning of Jan. 6, with Thomas Robertson, another off-duty officer with the Rocky Mount, Virginia Police Department. Both had their police identification badges and service weapons with them, but they left those in their vehicle when they arrived in the District, according to court documents.

Related: 2 Virginia Police Officers Charged In Siege Of U.S. Capitol

After attending a rally at the Washington Monument, Fracker and Robertson walked to the U.S. Capitol, where a mob was gathering. The pair donned gas masks, approached the Lower West Terrace area. Fracker said he entered the building at 2:14 p.m, according to court documents.

By the time the officers were inside, they'd agreed to impede, stop, or delay the congressional proceedings and help each each other in doing so, Fracker said in his plea agreement.

Fracker posted a photo on social media taken in the Capitol Crypt. It showed the two officers making an obscene gesture in front of a statue of American Revolutionary War Gen. John Stark, according to authorities.

Both Fracker and Robertson were arrested on Jan. 13, 2021.

The Rocky Mount Police Department notified federal authorities that Robertson and Fracker were at the Capitol, according to a report in The Roanoke Times. Both officers were put on paid administrative leave and then later fired by the police department.

Fracker, who faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, will be sentenced at a later date in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Robertson, who has not pleaded guilty to all charges, is awaiting his court date.