Counter-Protester Charged for Assaulting Police Officer

PHILADELPHIA – U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Brian Glantz, 23, of Glenside, Pennsylvania, was charged on Saturday by complaint with one count of assault on an officer in the performance of official duties, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 111(a)(1), and the assimilated Commonwealth of Pennsylvania crime of aggravated assault on an officer in the performance of official duties, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 13 and 18 Pa.C.S. § 2702(a)(3). 

On November 17, 2018, a group identified as “We the People” received a permit and held a rally in Independence National Park. According to the complaint, approximately 50 people attended the event, and the group waved flags and made speeches. The complaint alleges that approximately 500 counter-protesters gathered at the event, yelling obscenities at both the permitted group and at state, local, and federal law enforcement officers. The complaint details that numerous law enforcement officers worked together to position themselves between the two groups to prevent a potentially violent confrontation. The complaint charges that the defendant pushed back at the officers and, while on Park property, punched a Philadelphia Police Department officer in the side of his face as he was in the performance of his duties; the defendant continued to resist the officers’ efforts to arrest him, kicking his legs and wrestling with the officers and park rangers.

“Assaulting a law enforcement agent – whether a federal, state, or local officer – is a crime that I take very seriously,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “There is no excuse for it. No matter who you are, if you assault an officer and there is federal jurisdiction, I will bring the full weight of my Office down upon you.”

The defendant has been held at the Federal Detention Center since Saturday. On Monday, the defendant appeared in United States Magistrate Court before the Honorable Elizabeth T. Hey and was released on a $15,000 bond with travel restrictions.

The case was investigated by the National Park Service with assistance from the Philadelphia Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Diviny.

An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.