Capitol rioter accused of beating officer to be jailed until trial

April 14 (UPI) -- A federal judge ruled Wednesday that a man accused of beating a police officer who was attempting to help injured rioters during the July 6 riot at the Capitol will be jailed until his trial date.

Jeffrey Sabol of Colorado is too dangerous and presents too great of a flight risk to be released from detention, Judge Emmet Sullivan wrote in a 64-page ruling, citing the premeditated nature of his presence at the Capitol, his violent actions during the riot and his attempt to flee to Switzerland.

"Mr. Sabol's willingness to strip a vulnerable law enforcement officer of his weapon so he could use it to forcibly push another officer into a violent mob speaks to the gravity of the offenses with which he has been charged as well as the danger he poses not just to his community, but to the American public as a whole," Sullivan wrote.

Earlier this month, Sabol was charged with assaulting Metropolitan Police Department officers and other crimes along with four other rioters.

In the aftermath of the insurrection, Sabol had "reached a mental breaking point" and traveled from Colorado to Boston, where he booked a flight to Switzerland believing he would be able to avoid extradition, according to the court documents.

Sabol abandoned the plan to fly to Switzerland after seeing law enforcement officers at the airport and threw his phone over a bridge, and rented a car and drove south.

He was arrested Jan. 11 in New York after officers from the Clarkstown Police Department responded to a report of his vehicle driving erratically.

The officers found Sabol covered in blood from lacerations on his thighs and arms, which he told officers were self-inflicted.

Sabol told the officers he was wanted by the FBI after "fighting tyranny in the D.C. Capitol" but said that he was "done fighting."

A search of his vehicle produced razor blades, a note with instructions and a password to a computer as well as personal identification and other belongings.

Sabol's attorneys said his behavior arose "in the context of a hysterical throng" but that he has since "recovered from the episode," arguing that living with his family members in New York could improve his mental health.

"The court sincerely hopes this is true," wrote Sullivan. "But the court cannot ignore that Mr. Sabol presents a flight risk nonetheless. Considering the steps he took to flee to Switzerland to avoid arrest, Mr. Sabol is the epitome of a flight risk."