Man accused of beating Capitol police officer to remain in custody

A federal judge in Little Rock has ordered a Conway man accused of beating a police officer with a flagpole Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol be returned to Washington and remain in custody “until all charges in this matter are resolved.”

Peter Francis Stager, 41, is charged with one count of civil disorder, according to a complaint filed Jan. 14 in federal court in Washington.

In announcing his decision Friday, Chief U.S.

Magistrate Judge J. Thomas Ray suggested, based upon the video evidence shown in court, a D.C. grand jury could bring additional charges against Stager. Immediately following Friday’s four-hour detention hearing, Ray issued the order to return Stager to Washington.

Stager is accused of being the man shown in a widely circulated video beating a police officer with a pole to which a U.S. flag was affixed. The attack was made at the U.S. Capitol as Congress was certifying the electoral vote tally formalizing Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.

The attack forced a delay in the proceedings as rioters

breached Capitol security and forced their way into the seat of U.S. government. The attack resulted in the deaths of five people, including a Capitol Police officer.

Another video placed into evidence shows a man identified by prosecutors as Stager talking to a news crew, saying “everyone in that building is a treasonous traitor” and “the only remedy for that is death.” At another point in the video, the man says, “Every single one of those Capitol enforcement officers, death is the only remedy for them.”

The videos taken Jan. 6 show a man with long hair and a long, bushy beard. Stager was escorted into court Friday by federal marshals shackled, his hair short and his beard apparently closecropped underneath a surgical mask.

Stager was arrested by the FBI and Conway police on Jan. 14 at his attorney’s office in Conway, where he had gone to surrender to law enforcement authorities.

Stager’s attorneys, Frank Shaw and Lauren Elenbaas of the Shaw Firm in Conway, argued Stager’s longtime ties to the community, stable background and lack of violence in his past suggested he should be allowed to remain free while the case proceeds. In addition, Stager’s wife, mother-in-law and his employer testified to his character, describing him as a stable, dependable, hard-working man devoted to his family.

His employer, Charles Penrod of Guthrie, Okla., told Shaw under questioning he has known Stager, who drives a truck for him, for about three years.

He testified Stager had driven a load of refrigerated goods to the Northeast for a delivery and was in Washington on Jan. 6.

He said following that, Stager drove back to Arkansas to pick up a load for delivery in Florida.

Penrod said he would continue to employ Stager if he were released, and because his trucks are equipped with GPS tracking authorities would be able to monitor his whereabouts at all times.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacy Williams asked Penrod when Stager was due to return from the Northeast. Penrod replied because Stager didn’t have a load to bring back to Arkansas, he didn’t have a set time to return.

“Once he dropped his load in New Jersey, he drove empty, deadheaded, back to D.C.,” Penrod said.

Asked why, Penrod, who said he knew Stager planned to attend the protest in D.C., said Stager had said he wanted to get some photos and was curious about what was going on.

“He was asked to by the president to show his support,” Penrod said.

Penrod said he hadn’t viewed the video of the police officer being struck with the flagpole.

“I didn’t want to taint my opinion,” he said.

“Would your opinion change if you saw him beating a police officer on video?” Williams asked.

“Is it edited?” Penrod shot back.

“Did the president ask him to beat a police officer over the head with a flagpole?” Williams asked.

“Ma’am, I’m not the president,” Penrod replied. “I don’t know what he asked him.”

Williams then asked, if it were proven Stager attacked a police officer as shown on the video, would he still be able to drive for Penrod.

Penrod quietly answered no.

Stager’s wife, Samantha Littell, and mother-in-law, Kathy Littell, described Stager as a loving, caring, giving father to the couple’s two children, active in the community and willing to pitch in to help others in need. Samantha Littell said her husband had never shown any propensity for violence.

“Peter doesn’t even discipline the children,” she said. “That’s on me. He may raise his voice if our daughter doesn’t clean her room, but that’s it.”

She said Stager told her the morning of Jan. 6 he was going to the protest, but she said he never espoused extremist views or voiced a desire to overthrow the government.

Asked when he had cut his hair and shaved his beard, Stager’s wife said sometime between the time he left for Florida on or around Jan. 8 and when he returned Jan. 14.

“Were you surprised?” Williams asked.

“Yes and no,” Samantha Littell replied. “He’s done it before. He’ll go through phases where he grows it back out.”

Asked if there were firearms or other weapons in the home, she said “not anymore, no,” adding she had taken them out after she learned Stager was going to be arrested.

Kathy Littell said Stager was a “wonderful father” with “two great kids,” and related how Stager had volunteered to help make bird boxes for an art project that one of his children’s classes was doing. She said he had never shown any violent tendencies around her.

“As a matter of fact, I don’t think he’s ever even spanked the kids,” she said. “He’s more of a talker.”

The government’s sole witness, FBI agent Brian Ambrose, a member of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, was among the agents who arrested Stager in Conway. He was in court Friday to provide details of Stager’s alleged involvement in the attack on the Capitol as portrayed in the two videos in evidence and the criminal complaint.

“In the video we saw, does Mr. Stager talk about Antifa?” Williams asked, addressing a comment an informant told the FBI that Stager had made some time after the attack, saying he thought the person he was hitting was an Antifa infiltrator.

“No,” Ambrose replied.

“Who was he indicating that death was the only remedy for?” Williams asked.

“Capitol Police,” Ambrose replied.

Once testimony concluded, Ray recessed for 50 minutes as he considered whether to detain Stager or release him to home detention. Upon his return, Ray remarked upon the savagery of the attack on the D.C. police officer portrayed on the video.

“No one’s interfering,” he said. “No one is trying to stop it. Mr. Stager takes the flagpole and runs his hand to the end of the pole to maximize his leverage and brings it down hard, twice.

“That conduct would support other charges,” Ray added, suggesting Stager could wind up being charged with first-degree battery, assault with a dangerous weapon, aggravated assault, and possibly other charges should the U.S. attorney in Washington put the matter before a grand jury.

Ray said the false assertion the presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump turned out to be the trigger appearing to cause Stager to travel to the Capitol and to take part in the attack.

Ray said although he didn’t consider Stager to be a flight risk, the risk Stager could be triggered into committing further acts of politically motivated violence were too great to allow him to remain free while his case moves forward.

“It will be the decision of this court that you be detained until all charges in this matter are resolved,” Ray said.

“No one’s interfering. No one is trying to stop it. Mr. Stager takes the flagpole and runs his hand to the end of the pole to maximize his leverage and brings it down hard, twice.”

— Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Thomas Ray

Stager