Michael Tyler Roberts, wearing a red MAGA sweatshirt, is seen climbing over rioters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Inset: Roberts being interviewed on Capitol grounds on Jan. 6. (Images via FBI court filing.)
A Tennessee man who was seen crowd-surfing over the mob of Donald Trump supporters in an apparent attempt to fight with police at the Capitol on Jan. 6 appeared ready to end it all in order to keep the former president in office, officials say.
Michael Tyler Roberts, 34, was seen climbing on the heads and shoulders of pro-Trump rioters gathered at the tunnel at the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace that day, according to federal prosecutors. Shortly before 4 p.m., surveillance footage shows Roberts “moving swiftly over the top of other rioters to get closer to the police line” at the tunnel, the Justice Department said in an announcement Thursday.
“From his position on top of other rioters and the officers defending the Capitol, Roberts is visibly grappling with those officers and grabbing hold of their hands and arms,” the probable cause affidavit says. “During the melee, Roberts’s hat was discarded.”
Michael Roberts is seen in the tunnel in the Lower West Terrace of the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6 (image via FBI court filing).
According to the criminal complaint, Roberts had purchased a set of brass knuckles for the specific purpose of fighting at the Capitol on Jan. 6, when Congress was tasked with certifying President Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election. He also told his companion Ronald McAbee, who has also been charged with Capitol riot offenses, that he planned on wearing “maga gear” — shorthand for the pro-Trump slogan “Make America Great Again” — and he is indeed seen in pictures wearing a red sweatshirt emblazoned with “MAGA” in white letters.
Like other accused Jan. 6 rioters, Roberts appeared to think his Capitol quest would be a one-way trip.
“Man, this isn’t just a fight for Donald Trump,” he said in an interview on Capitol grounds on the day of the attack. “This is a fight of good versus evil, right versus wrong. I love my country. I had to tell my son before I left home ‘Listen, son, I’m doing this for you. Daddy may not come home.’ But that’s okay. I’ll stand in the gap so he doesn’t have to. So your kids don’t have to. I’ll take whatever comes.”
The complaint was filed on Oct. 23. He is charged with obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, and three disorderly conduct and trespassing misdemeanors. According to court documents, Roberts was arrested on Wednesday.
Read the Statement of Facts in support of Roberts’ arrest, below.
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