CHICAGO, Ill. (WMAQ/NBC) – A Chicago police officer has been charged in connection with the U.S. Capitol breach on January 6th.
Officer Karol Chwiesiuk, 29, was charged with entering a restricted building without lawful authority, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on capitol grounds, among other charges, according to a criminal complaint against him.
In a news conference Friday, the Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown and Mayor Lori Lightfoot had strong words.
“My brothers and sisters in CPD blue will not allow anyone to tarnish our shining star. To bend it, twist it or sully its true meaning,” Brown said. “What happened in DC on January Sixth was an absolute disgrace. The fact that a Chicago police officer has been charged in that attack on American democracy makes my blood boil.”
Mayor Lightfoot said, “Family members, neighbors, business owners, and sadly even public servants. One of those was a Chicago police officer, bringing a total disgrace to the badge.”
Chwiesiuk, a two-and-a-half-year member of CPD’s force, was relieved of his police powers on June 2nd, Brown said.
The complaint includes photos of Chwiesiuk inside the Capitol building and accuses the former officer of breaking into a Democratic senator’s office with a mob of others and texting a friend in the days leading up to the riot that he was “busy planning how to [expletive] up commies.”
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