By Steve Neavling
An off-duty DEA agent who flashed his badge and government-issued firearm outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot scored a minor victory in federal court last week.
U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly dismissed a felony count of making a false statement to the FBI, saying the D.C. District Court was an improper venue to pursue the count, CBS affiliate WUSA reports.
Mark Sami Ibrahim, who has since resigned, was the first federal law enforcement officer to be charged in the riot. He was arrested in July.
Prosecutors allege Ibrahim lied to investigators when he said he did not flash his DEA badge and firearm. A photo showed Ibrahim posing with his badge and a firearm holstered on his hip.
But the judge dismissed the count, saying the venue was improper because Ibrahim was in California and the agent was in Virginia during the Zoom interview.
Ibrahim is still facing charges of entering a restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon, injuries to property and bringing a firearm to Capitol grounds.
A trial date has not yet been set.
