Court docs: D.C. officer almost used his firearm on Fitzsimons during scuffle

Surveillance image of Kyle Fitzsimons under Capitol archway, and at right after being struck during melee.

WASHINGTON - Government prosecutors say a Maine man accused of violence during the Capitol unrest of Jan. 6 tried to drag one police officer into the crowd and take away another officer's shield before he was finally beaten off by a fusillade of baton blows.
The document detailing evidence discovery was filed earlier this month in the U.S. district court for the District of Columbia.
The 16-page discovery notice alleges that Kyle Fitzsimons, 38, of Gully Oven Road, Lebanon, "violently attacked officers" guarding the Lower West Terrace near the inaugural stage around 3:45 p.m.
According to the document, before Fitzsimons dragged the officer into the crowd of agitators he grabbed a gas mask from an officer identified as P.N. and pulled it out of position "as another rioter sprayed P.N. in the face with a chemical agent."
Then an officer stationed in the archway, identified as A.G., saw Fitsimons fighting with another officer, who fell down and was being dragged into the crowd before A.G. pulled him back to the police line.
The former Hannaford butcher and Lebanon cannabis committee member then tussled with A.G. grabbing his shoulder and trying to take away his shield, the document alleges. A.G. then slipped on shields that were laying on the ground and kicked Fitzsimons in an attempt to get free, but he wouldn't let go till A.G. struck him multiple times with his baton.
The discovery document then alleges that A.G. was about to use his firearm on Fitzsimons before he finally let go.
Fitzsimons allegedly then moved toward the middle of the archway where he charged a line of officers, who fought him off before he retreated into the crowd.
In January the D.C. court set Fitzsimons' trial date for June. 13, 16 months after his arrest on Feb. 4, 2021, when a handful of unmarked black SUVs arrived at his Gully Oven Road home.
After a short stay at Cumberland County Jail he was transferred to a private penal facility in Rhode Island for several months before being transferred to the Washington, D.C., jail where he remains incarcerated.
Fitzsimons has twice petitioned the court for bail but was denied both times.
Fitzsimon's public defender, Natasha Taylor-Smith, filed a brief in October asking that the trial venue be changed to Maine due to the heavily politicized environment in D.C., but the court denied the motion in December.
Taylor-Smith has not returned emails from The Rochester Voice seeking information on Fitzsimon's health and whether he was in solitary confinement or not.
Anecdotal accounts in press reports have suggested that many standing trial in the Capitol unrest are being kept in solitary confinement.
A 10-count indictment filed against Fitzsimons last February charges him obstruction of an official proceeding, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building or grounds, act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings, two counts of civil disorder and two counts of inflicting bodily injury on certain officers.
Fizsimons pleaded not guilty on all charges during an April 2021 arraignment, which came more than 10 weeks after his arrest.
He was denied bail during his initial detention hearing on April 7 with Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia presiding.
During the hearing, however, Harvey pressed Assistant U.S. Attorney Puja Bhatia as to why no plea deal had been offered Fitzsimons.
"Why no plea deal, the government doesn't need more investigation for this case," Harvey said adding that Fitzsimons was not part of any organized violence like the Proud Boys or the Oath Takers.
"This is not a complex case," he added. "Three months in, no plea?"
Fitzsimons faces more than 40 years in jail if convicted on all counts.
Robert Palmer, who pleaded guilty to attacking D.C. and Capitol Police on Jan. 6, was sentenced to 63 months in prison in December. It is the stiffest penalty delivered thus far in the Jan. 6 unrest.