Man Accused of Assaulting Officer at Capitol Riots Tried to Flee to Switzerland, Feds Say

A man who admitted to participating in the U.S. Capitol riots is accused of trying to flee the country and commit suicide shortly after the insurrection.

As reported by CNBC, Jeffrey Sabol—a 51-year-old geophysicist from Colorado—told authorities he was "in a fit of rage" on the day the of deadly siege when he was allegedly filmed assaulting a Metropolitan Police Department officer. Footage shows a man, identified as Sabol, wearing a brown jacket and green backpack as he drags the officer on the ground outside the Capitol; Moments later, another rioter is seen repeatedly hitting the officer with a flag pole.

Prosecutors claim the divorced father of three tried to kill himself sometime after he and other Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. He is also accused of purchasing a plane ticket from Boston to Zurich, Switzerland, in an apparent attempt to flee charges.

"What is one of the many things Switzerland is known for? One of them is being a non-extradition country," Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Gianforti told the judge Friday. "He thinks he won’t get shipped back home to face the music ... I think that his suicide attempt can be taken as consciousness of guilt."

Sabol was arrested Friday morning at the Westchester Medical Center in New York. He was reportedly at the facility recovering from the alleged suicide attempt. Though he has not been charged with assaulting an officer, he's facing civil disobedience charges for his role in the Capitol riots. Sabol, who is being held without bond, could serve up to five years in prison if convicted.