Capitol Hill rioter asks judge for permission to use his social media to find him a date

Danny Jones

‘Tom, 36, 3,338 miles away. Two truths and a lie: I voted for Biden. They stole the election. I stole a cop’s badge and buried it in my garden’

A Capitol Hill rioter who is accused of having assaulted and robbed a police officer is now asking for a judge’s permission to once again access social media in order to find himself a date and a job.

Thomas Sibick, a 36-year-old from Buffalo, New York, was arrested on March 12 2021 on a total of 10 counts: his charges included engaging in civil disorder, aiding and abetting, resisting or impeding certain officers and even assaulting and stealing from a police officer.

After having been denied bail and eventually released this past October, Sibick remains under house arrest and is banned from using social media; however, he is now appealing to have his limited activities expanded in order to seek employment and in the hopes of “establishing friendship” with “members of the opposite gender”.

In weekend court filing, Jan 6 defendant Thomas Sibick seeks court permission to use social media to job hunt & to "interact with members of the opposite gender for the purpose of establishing a friendship"

Sibick is accused of assault, badge theft from officer Michael Fanone pic.twitter.com/LUB0rYhWg4

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) December 27, 2021

Sibick is not allowed to leave his house unless under extenuating circumstances – part of his stay at home order states that he cannot even watch political discussion shows on TV – and while he does accept that he may have to leave the house for certain types of work, he is still hoping to connect with someone where possible.

As reported in Business Insider, his lawyer Stephen Brennwald filed a motion to partially reverse the social media ban under the assurances that it would not be used for “political engagement, news reading” or any other prohibited activity.

Instead, he insists that the Capitol Hill rioter understands he would not be able to leave his house for a date but that he has expressed the desire to “establish some sort of connection with someone (if possible, in light of his situation)”.

As you can see in the local news report below, Sibick is not only accused of having assaulted and stolen from an officer tending to the chaotic crowds outside the US seat of government but he is also thought to have buried the snatched badge in his garden.