US Capitol rioter who tried to flee to Switzerland is jailed pre-trial

Washington (CNN) A geophysicist who allegedly beat police officers who were trying to help injured rioters during the US Capitol siege will be jailed before trial, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, citing the man's ham-handed attempt to flee to Switzerland as proof that he poses a literal flight risk.

Judge Emmet Sullivan said Jeffrey Sabol was too dangerous to release due to the flight risk and because he might continue his fight against "perceived tyranny" once he is out of jail.

"He stripped a vulnerable police officer of his police baton," Sullivan wrote in a 64-page ruling . "He then used that stolen police baton to force another officer away from his post and into a mob of rioters who proceeded to viciously attack him, leaving him bleeding from the head."

Sabol was indicted alongside four others who allegedly assaulted the officers, including one who was beaten while being dragged face-down into the crowd. He hasn't yet entered a plea.

Sabol took drastic steps after the January 6 insurrection because he "reached a mental breaking point," according to court filings. He traveled from his native Colorado to Boston and booked a flight to Switzerland, where he believed he would be protected from extradition, according to court filings. But he abandoned that plan after seeing law enforcement officers at the airport.