A Jan. 6 prosecutor from Tampa who helped the federal government indict Florida residents accused of participating in the riots at the U.S. Capitol is in his own legal trouble.
The Tampa Bay Times reported that Patrick Douglas Scruggs, 38, is accused of stabbing a fellow motorist Tuesday following a crash on the Howard Frankland Bridge.
According to a press release from the Florida Highway Patrol, Mr. Scruggs was arrested and charged with aggravated battery, aggravated assault and armed burglary.
The former federal prosecutor is accused of pulling over during the morning rush hour and stabbing a 35-year-old man with a pocket knife.
The episode began when a Florida couple traveling on Interstate 275 stopped to check on a driver slumped behind the wheel of a vehicle stopped on the bridge shortly before 9:24 a.m.
Instead, the slumped driver, 35, woke up and accelerated forward, crashing into the couple’s sedan. He then shifted into reverse and attempted to get around the couple’s sedan, according to troopers, only to hit Mr. Scruggs’ sedan as he drove by.
According to police, Mr. Scruggs pulled over, walked up, broke a window and stabbed the driver with a pocketknife.
The couple who had originally stopped to help returned again and tried to lend assistance to the stabbing victim, but police said Mr. Scruggs tried to stab them before they ran.
Mr. Scruggs was detained by a St. Petersburg Police Department officer who witnessed the commotion as he drove by.
The stabbing victim was taken to a local hospital with injuries authorities described as serious but not life-threatening.
Following his arrest, the newspaper noted that Mr. Scruggs was released from the Pinellas County Jail late Tuesday evening after posting $65,000 bail.
According to his LinkedIn page, Mr. Scruggs worked for the Justice Department from September 2012 until April.
His work for the Justice Department included representing the federal government during hearings for Florida residents charged with being involved with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Mr. Scruggs’ attorney, John Nohlgren, released a statement to the Tampa Bay Times on Wednesday afternoon.
“In America, every person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Mr. Scruggs is no different than anyone else and should be afforded that same presumption,” the statement said. “He has no prior criminal history and has spent nearly his entire career protecting the people of this country.”
The statement called the incident “a chaotic situation involving multiple crashes caused by only one person on one of our area’s busiest bridges.”
“That person was not Mr. Scruggs.” the statement said.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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