A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy has admitted to being at the U.S. Capitol during the violent insurrection last week, Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced Thursday.
The sheriff gave no details about the deputy during a Facebook Live or in a statement released after, but indicated that he had contacted the FBI to inform investigators.
“I am very concerned one of my deputies may have been involved in wrongdoing at the U.S. Capitol,” Villanueva said in the statement. “We have initiated an administrative inquiry into the matter.”
He asked anyone with additional information to call the Sheriff’s Department.
The deputy “identified themselves as being there,” and was off duty at the time, the sheriff said.
It is unclear if he or she engaged in any violence.
The announcement comes a day after Villanueva released a video saying he condemned unrest at the Capitol and that the public safety of residents is his priority.
“I unequivocally condemn the violence that occurred in D.C. with the same resolve I condemned the rioting and looting after the killing of George Floyd,” Villanueva said in the video message.
“We encourage everyone to exercise their First Amendment rights … but it has to be in a matter that does not harm our communities.”
A Los Angeles Police Department officer this week also admitted he attended the pro-Trump rally and was ordered to talk to the FBI about it, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Similarly, agencies across the country have been learning that members partook in the Jan. 6 riot that eventually turned deadly.
Two Capitol police officers were suspended after their actions during the insurrection, and the U.S. Army is investigating an officer who allegedly led a group to D.C. for the rally.
More than 100 people have been arrested as a result, and the FBI continues to scour social media to track others involved in the unrest.
