Chair of Republican Party precinct in Cooke County, Mark Middleton, has been arrested for his participation during the US Capitol riot on January 6th.
His mandate as precinct chair includes promoting and growing the local county party, as well as maximizing the Republican vote.
Middleton, 52, has also been an election poll worker in Texas and now faces 7 different charges along with his wife, for storming the Capitol and assaulting police officers.
The arrestee however, is not the only rioter with local Republican Party ties. His colleagues Derrick Evans in West Virginia and Jorge Rile in California both faced criminal charges for their participation in the riot.
Evans and Rile resigned, but Middleton will have the liberty to serve the rest of his term if he chooses to, as the party has no mechanism for removing him from office.
In court documents, FBI investigators state that Mark and Jalise Middleton traveled to Washington and marched from the White House to the Capitol grounds where they engaged in violent confrontations with police officers.
The documents allege that the Middletons helped knock down a barrier, breached police lines and proceeded to strike officers with their hands.
As officers repeatedly order Middleton and other rioters to “get back,” Middleton is heard yelling “f*ck you!” as he continues pushing against the barricade, court documents read.
According to CNN, the couple’s movements were documented in a series of now deleted Facebook postings that confirm police testimony.
“We are on the front lines. We helped push down the barriers,” Middleton posted, “We had to retreat, but more patriots pushed forward, and they’re taking back our house.”
Chris McNamara, chairman of the Cooke County Republican Party said he was “very disappointed” in Middleton’s actions and the Cooke County Republican Party does not condone the attack on the Capitol.
“It’s a sad day in American history,” he said. “It’s not the way we do things.”
