News 4 Buffalo

Capitol rioter from Buffalo who allegedly buried officer’s badge indicted on 10 charges

(WIVB) – A Buffalo man has been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 Capital riot and the assault of a Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department officer.

Thomas Sibick, 35, of Buffalo, is among three men indicted Friday for crimes committed at the U.S. Capitol, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.

Sibick is accused of assaulting officer Michael Fanone, ripping the badge and radio off the officer’s uniform, stealing the badge and later burying it in his backyard. He was indicted on 10 charges, including:

“It was brutal, just beaten, struck with a variety of different objects,” Fanone said during a January interview with CBS News. He said his own Taser was used against him “probably about a half dozen times.” 

The case is being investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. The DOJ credited the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Western District of New York with providing valuable assistance.

The other men charged along with Sibick were Albuquerque Cosper Head, 41, of Kingsport, Tennessee and Kyle James Young, 37, of Redfield, Iowa.

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Nick Veronica is a Buffalo native who joined the News 4 team as the Digital Executive Producer in 2021. He previously worked at NBC Sports and The Buffalo News. You can follow Nick on Facebook and Twitter and find more of his work here.