Rhode Islander charged with Jan. 6 U.S. attack on police

WASHINGTON — Prosecutors have filed felony charges against a Rhode Island man who investigators allege used a wooden table leg to attack police guarding the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot, according to unsealed court papers.

In an 11-page statement of facts, an unnamed Federal Bureau of Investigation agent based in Boston said video footage taken during the riot showed Timothy Desjardins, 35, of Providence, “assaulting multiple law enforcement officers” in a U.S. Capitol tunnel using what “appears to be a broken wooden table leg.”

At the time, the FBI said, police guarding the Capitol were being attacked by rioters who were surging into the tunnel and throwing objects including a baton and a table.