A second Buffalo man has been charged for his alleged involvement in storming the Capitol on Jan. 6.
According to a federal affidavit, Thomas Sibick is accused of being part of a group that beat and stole equipment from a D.C. Metro Police officer who was defending a doorway on Capitol Hill.
The affidavit cites multiple photos and videos posted on social media as evidence, including some on Sibick’s own pages.
He’s charged with a variety of crimes including entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct, obstruction, and taking something of value by force. Sibick maintains he was trying to help the officer, saying he grabbed the officer's police radio to hit a panic button to call for assistance.
It was also discovered Sibick was in possesion of the officer's badge, which during various interviews with federal agents he claimed to have disposed of while in D.C., to then having disposed of it Buffalo, before finally saying he had buried it in his backyard. According to authorities, Sibick has since turned over the D.C. Metro police badge to investigators.
A photo also exists of Sibick holding a Capitol Police riot shield, an item he said was passed around among the crowd to take pictures with on Jan. 6.
Sibick becomes the second Western New Yorker to be charged in related to alleged actions taken during the day when a large group took the Capitol building by force. Peter Harding, of Cheektowaga, was charged about a week after the assault, and faces two misdemanor charges.
Sibick is due back in federal court March 16.
