Former editor of Jewish newspaper is charged for grabbing Capitol police officer on Jan 6

A former top editor of an Orthodox Jewish newspaper in New York City has been arrested on charges that he interfered with police officers who were trying to protect the US Capitol from a mob of Donald Trump supporters on January 6

Michael Kunzelman

A former top editor of an Orthodox Jewish newspaper in New York City was arrested Thursday on charges that he interfered with police officers who were trying to protect the US Capitol during the January 6 riot.

Elliot Resnick, 39, was chief editor of The Jewish Press when he joined the crowd of Donald Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on 6 January 2021, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.

Videos show Mr Resnick grabbing and holding the arm of a Capitol police sergeant who was spraying a chemical irritant to prevent rioters from entering the building, the affidavit says. Another officer tried to remove Mr Resnick’s hand from the sergeant’s arm, the agent wrote.

The FBI arrested Mr Resnick in New York City on charges including civil disorder and assault of or interference with law enforcement. Court records didn’t immediately list an attorney for Resnick.

The Jewish Press, based in Brooklyn, bills itself as the largest independent weekly Jewish newspaper in the US. A statement on its website says it is “known for its editorial feistiness” and “was politically incorrect long before the phrase was coined.”

Politico reported in April 2021 that video showed Mr Resnick inside the Capitol on January 6. Mr Resnick later wrote an article defending the Capitol riot without acknowledging his presence in the building that day, Politico’s report noted.

At the time, The Jewish Press publisher Naomi Mauer told Politico that the newspaper believed Mr Resnick “acted within the law.” A statement from The Jewish Press editorial board confirmed Mr Resnick was in the Capitol on January 6 and had been “covering the rally and the rest of the day’s terrible events” for the newspaper.

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