A Bexar County Sheriff’s lieutenant under investigation for being at a deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week claims she was hundreds of feet behind rioters and was unaware of the bloodshed taking place in front of her.
Roxanne Mathai had posted about being at the rally on social media, but never entered the building. She even specifically posted that she had no desire to enter the building and break the law.
On Monday, attorney Hector Cortes told KSAT on behalf of Lt. Roxanne Mathai that his client has been swept up in the hysteria surrounding the fatal uprising.
He said Mathai’s repeated posts to Facebook were made before the law enforcement veteran had learned people were killed and that members of the mob had attacked police and actually gone inside the building. In the posts, Mathai wrote that it was “one of the best days” of her life alongside photos of rioters climbing scaffolding in front of the Capitol.
“So her role in the chaos is really just attending a political rally for a president who she supports,” said Cortes.
Five people died, including a Capitol Police officer, and more than 50 other officers were hurt during the riot that temporarily stalled the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory by Congress.
The images posted by Mathai appeared to be taken from inside the initial barriers police officers had set up to prevent demonstrators from breaching the building. Mathai contends she took the photos later in the day, after the deadly siege.
Cortes acknowledged that Mathai, 46, approached the steps of the Capitol, but he said a 35-second video clip posted to Facebook in which she says, “We’re going in. Tear gas and all. Tear gas don’t bother me,” was social media bluster.
Clouds of chemical irritants, which are typically used by police to disperse crowds, can be seen during the footage.
Here’s what The Gateway Pundit reported about Mathai:
Since the interview, I received my arbitration hearing date….the hearing in which I fight for my job back. It’s a process we follow through our Collective Bargaining Agreement. My arbitration hearing is August 25-26, 2021. It’s a slow-moving process. I believe this was nothing more than a political move on Sheriff Salazar’s part. And in my opinion, there is no room for political bias in the sheriff’s office, in any sheriff’s office. We should remain focused on the actual tasks that we were sworn in to do and nothing else.
After my interview with OAN, Sheriff Salazar felt the need to re-run the old story all over again on a local station KSAT12 in which he had it emphasized that he ‘terminated me as promised.’ Since that interview, I have received even more derogatory text messages, voicemails, and messages on social media.
Support through a GiveSendGo fundraiser was also given to Mathai, it was launched to help her fight back.
Sources: The Gateway Pundit, KSAT.COM
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