A Houston police officer lied to investigators about taking part in the deadly US Capitol riot — only to be done in by photos showing him inside the Rotunda that he apparently thought he’d deleted from his cell phone, authorities alleged Tuesday.
After his fib fell apart, Tam Dinh Pham was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds for his alleged role in the Jan. 6 riot that saw supporters of President Trump attempt to prevent Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s election victory.
On Jan. 12, Pham met with investigators from the Joint Terrorism Task Force at his Richmond, Texas home, and acknowledged that he had attended a Jan. 6 rally in Washington, DC, during which Trump encouraged his supporters to “fight like hell” against the election results, according to court filings.
Pham denied, however, that he took part in the post-rally riot that left five people dead, including a US Capitol Police officer pepper-sprayed and bludgeoned with a fire extinguisher.
Pham then agreed to let the agents peruse the photos on his phone, according to the filings.
When one of the agents noticed that there were no photos in Pham’s album covering a three-day span including Jan. 6, they requested and received permission to check his deleted photos section.
There, agents found photos and videos showing Pham inside the Rotunda at the time of the riot, including one of him pointing to a flag reading, “Trump 2020 No More Bulls–t,” according to the filings.
When Pham was reminded that lying to investigators was a crime, he acknowledged that he walked around inside the Capitol for about 10 to 15 minutes amidst the riot, court filings show.
Pham, who had previously been placed on administrative leave from the Houston Police Department amid the probe, tendered his resignation late last week, according to The Houston Chronicle.
Pham is among several law-enforcement officers from across the country alleged to have been at the riot, including at least one member of the NYPD.
It was not immediately clear if Pham had retained a lawyer to speak on his behalf.