A former Houston police officer who on Wednesday was charged in the early January siege of Congress claimed he was there to see “historical art.”
Tam Dinh Pham, who was off-duty during the siege, initially denied he was present at the U.S. Capitol, but when he was confronted with photo and video evidence, he told FBI investigators he was there only to see the building’s collection of paintings and sculptures, according to court documents obtained by the Washington Post.
The 48-year-old resigned from the Houston Police Department on Jan. 14 and insisted he “had no intention of committing any act of violence or vandalism” despite reportedly admitting to law enforcement that he scaled a wall to breach the Rotunda.
The photos and videos referenced by authorities were found in the former officer’s “deleted folder” on his personal device, according to court documents. One picture showed Pham posing in front of a statue of President Gerald Ford, which had been draped with a Trump flag.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo released a statement on Wednesday regarding Pham’s arrest.
“The second I received a tip that this former Houston police officer may have been part of the mob that stormed our Capitol, the Houston Police Department launched a joint investigation with our Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) partners,” he said. “We are also auditing arrests made by this former officer to ensure there are no irregularities, to include the body-worn camera footage related to his arrests.”
The 48-year-old was jailed on charges of unlawful entry into the Capitol, violent entry, and disorderly conduct.
Pham’s lawyer, Nicole Hochglaube, told NBC News that her client cooperated with the FBI. “He is deeply saddened to be associated with the domestic terrorists who attacked our Capitol on January 6th, believes strongly in the rule of law, and that the election choosing President Biden was fair and free,” she added.
Pham joins a growing list of at least a dozen off-duty law enforcement members charged in the Jan. 6 riot that saw five dead, one a police officer.
Earlier in the week, a pair of former Virginia officers, Jacob Fracker and Thomas Robertson, was ordered by a court to surrender their personal firearms after a photograph circulated allegedly depicting the duo flipping the middle finger from inside the Capitol. The law enforcement personnel purportedly sent the picture to their fellow officers.
