Joseph Fisher, a former Boston Police officer, was arrested in Plymouth Thursday for allegedly entering the U.S. Capitol Building during the Jan. 6 insurrection and assaulting a Capitol Police officer.
Fisher is the latest in 22 arrests by the FBI’s Boston office, covering Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Maine, in connection with the Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” rally. Five died during or immediately after the 2021 attack, including one Capitol Police officer, and two more officers died by suicide in the days after the attack. The Capitol riots triggered the creation of a bipartisan Congressional committee to investigate the day’s events, including the extent of Donald Trump’s involvement, and ultimately recommended criminal charges for the former president.
A visual breakdown, included in court filings submitted by FBI Special Agent Casey Biagiotti, shows Fisher’s apparent movements on Jan. 6: first near the Washington Monument, then to outside the Capitol Building, entering the building and walking through multiple halls. When a group of rioters and a Capitol Police officer got into an altercation, Fisher allegedly hit the officer with a chair. In all, Fisher was allegedly in the Capitol Building for 18 minutes.
Another regional FBI office directed the Boston FBI office to Fisher because he was wearing a beanie with several Boston sports logos when he entered the Capitol building, according to court filings. His phone also was later traced to the building on the day of the riots, according to the complaint.
The Woke Windows Project, an online database that provides public records about the Boston Police Department, shows that four citizen complaints were made about Fisher between 2002 and 2015. The complaints were unfounded, unsubstantiated or Fisher was exhonorated in each case, the database shows.
Two other Boston Police officers were dismissed earlier this month for actions related to the Jan. 6 insurrection. One officer, Joseph Abasciano, acknowledged he had been part of the crowd on Jan. 6 but did not enter the Capitol Building. Another officer, Michael Geary, when an FBI social media account put out a request for information related to the riots, replied “rats get bats” — which he explained as a “satirical jab” in an internal investigation. Both were dismissed, and Abasciano told GBH News he was concerned about his First Amendment rights being violated for his dismissal.
More than 1,000 people have been arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection since it took place more than two years ago.
