North Kingstown man accused in Jan. 6 riot makes remote appearance in D.C. court
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The North Kingstown man accused of assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol appeared remotely Thursday in federal court in Washington, D.C.
Bernard J. Sirr made an initial appearance before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey, who agreed to allow Sirr to remain free on the same conditions set last week in Rhode Island.
He was released last week on a $10,000 unsecured bond and will continue to be monitored on supervised release. He was required, too, to surrender his 12 guns to a family member and his passport to the court. He is not allowed to travel outside the continental United States or enter Washington, D.C., except to attend court proceedings.
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Harvey warned Sirr of the potential consequences should he break the law during the pendency of the case or be found in possession of a firearm.
“You cannot have a firearm in your home,” Harvey said. “Do you understand, sir?”
“I do, sir,” Sirr replied.
Sirr is facing a felony count of civil disorder and misdemeanors related to the fracas at the Capitol, including engaging in physical violence on restricted grounds and impeding passage through the Capitol grounds. He is being represented by Washington, D.C., lawyer Alfred Carry.
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On Thursday, Sirr made a joint appearance before Harvey with a Michigan man facing similar charges stemming from the breach of the Capitol.
According to court documents, Sirr was among rioters Jan. 6 who illegally entered the Capitol grounds as the Senate was poised to certify the Electoral College's vote count of the 2020 presidential election. He wore a black baseball cap with a snake on it that investigators used to pinpoint his identity, a blue neck gaiter, glasses and a coat as he was observed marching with others in a “stack” with his left hand on the shoulder of the person in front of him.
The documents say that video taken at about 3:08 p.m. shows Sirr entering the tunnel. Officials say that in a video taken inside the tunnel, he is at the front of the police line, pushing against rioters as they assaulted officers. At another point, he is seen pushing directly against the police line, with his hand pressed against a police shield. He also participated in a struggle in which a group of rioters chanted “Heave! Ho!” in unison while pushing against officers.
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Sirr is a state employee who works at the University of Rhode Island’s Bay Campus in Narragansett as a nuclear facilities engineer for the R.I. Atomic Energy Commission. The commission runs Rhode Island’s only nuclear reactor. According to federal authorities, Sirr was on leave from his job Jan. 5 through Jan. 7.
A spokeswoman for the state Department of Administration said Thursday that Sirr remains on paid administrative leave. According to the state records, Sirr has an annual salary of $82,009.
Sirr is the second Rhode Islander to be charged in connection with the riot at the Capitol.
Timothy Desjardins, 36, of Providence, was charged in November with assaulting, resisting or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon or inflicting bodily injury, civil disorder, entering restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon, engaging in physical violence in restricted buildings or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and demonstrating in a Capitol building. Desjardins remains held at the Adult Correctional Institutions on unrelated state charges.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI man accused in Jan. riot makes remote appearance in D.C. court
