An off-duty Drug Enforcement Administration agent posed for photographs in which he flashed his DEA badge and firearm outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot, according to a court filing Tuesday following the agent\u2019s arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A video posted on the internet also showed Mark Sami Ibrahim carrying a flag bearing the words \u201cLiberty or Death\u201d outside the Capitol, about 12 minutes before a mob of people pulled apart a nearby set of barricades, authorities said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ibrahim, of Orange County, California, was a probationary employee of the DEA and was on personal leave from the agency when he traveled to Washington on Jan. 6. Several weeks before the riot, he had given notice of his intention to resign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also on Tuesday, a third person pleaded guilty to participating in a plot for members of the anti-government Oath Keepers group to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6. The judge who accepted Caleb Berry\u2019s guilty plea didn\u2019t immediately schedule his sentencing hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The presence of law enforcement at the riot has been troubling for the police who were attacked and beaten. The DEA agent is among at least 30 officers in 12 states who are being scrutinized for their behavior in the District of Columbia or face criminal charges for participating in the riot. Ex-military participated, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ibrahim wasn\u2019t working as a law-enforcement officer at the Capitol on Jan. 6, but he told investigators after the riot that he was there to help a friend who had been asked to document the event for the FBI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The friend denied that, however, and told investigators that Ibrahim had concocted the false story to \u201ccover his ass,\u201d according to a case summary signed by senior special agent with the Justice Department\u2019s Office of the Inspector General.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAccording to Ibrahim\u2019s friend, Ibrahim went to the rally in order to promote himself,\u201d the OIG agent wrote. \u201cIbrahim had been thinking about his next move after leaving the DEA and wanted the protests to be his stage for launching a \u2018Liberty Tavern\u2019 political podcast and cigar brand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ibrahim acknowledged that he was at the Capitol on Jan. 6 but denied that he displayed or exposed his DEA badge and firearm there despite the photographic evidence to the contrary, authorities say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ibrahim was arrested Tuesday in Washington on charges that included entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a firearm and making a false statement when he denied displayed his badge or firearm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Defense attorney Darren Richie said Ibrahim didn\u2019t participate in the riot, engage in any violence or try to enter the Capitol that day. He also remained \u201chonest and voluntarily cooperative\u201d with authorities, Richie added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis indictment results from conjecture, political pressure and a flawed attempt to paint a specific narrative through pictures taken wholly out of context. Mr. Ibrahim firmly believes the truth shall always prevail,\u201d Richie said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He is scheduled to make his initial court appearance on Tuesday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A DEA spokeswoman didn\u2019t immediately respond Tuesday to an email seeking comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The DEA had declined for months to say whether any of its agents attended the rally, saying it could not comment on \u201cspecific personnel matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf we receive information indicating an employee engaged in misconduct, DEA\u2019s policy is to promptly refer the case to the appropriate authorities for review,\u201d the agency told AP in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ibrahim has denied breaking any laws, telling Fox News in March that he \u201cnever even set foot on the stairs of the Capitol building.\u201d He said he went to the rally with his brother, an FBI agent, who faced \u201cno adverse action\u201d for attending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen the crowd began to be hostile toward law enforcement, me being law enforcement myself I started to document everything,\u201d Ibrahim told host Tucker Carlson, adding he later gave the materials to the FBI \u201cso those criminals could face justice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wanted to aid law enforcement that day as best I could. I really didn\u2019t think anything of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After flying back to Los Angeles, Ibrahim said, he was stripped of his badge and gun and \u201cfired after being suspended for two months for performance issues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey got it wrong,\u201d he said of his termination. \u201cMe and my brother both served in the Army. I followed him into federal law enforcement. My sister is a Navy veteran. My mom was in the Pentagon on 9\/11.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe saddest part about this,\u201d Ibrahim added, \u201cis I can\u2019t serve my country anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a WhatsApp group chat with at last five other law-enforcement officers, Ibrahim posted a photo of himself standing near barricades that had been pulled apart by the mob several minutes earlier, the OIG agent wrote. He also posted video in the chat that showed Ashli Babbitt, a woman fatally shot inside the Capitol, being taken from the building to an ambulance by emergency workers, the agent said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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