The 27-year-old Unionville man who was arrested for allegedly participating in the violent attack on police officers at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was employed at the time as a deputy with the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office.  

The rioters attempted to stop the certification of the vote of the Presidential election.  

According to FBI investigators, Ronald Colton McAbee came prepared for violence, dressed in a black tactical vest emblazoned with a patch that read “SHERIFF,” wearing gloves with “reinforced knuckles” (commonly known as brass knuckles) and carrying “a baton or black stick.”  

Investigators say the tactical vest McAbee was wearing during the Capitol attack appeared to be “government issued.” McAbee was also wearing a red “Make America Great Again” ball cap, a red face scarf and “a black shirt with white lettering that read, in part, ‘DIFFERENT GENERATION.’”  

At the time of the attack on the Capitol, McAbee was on a temporary disability leave from the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, federal documents reveal, after sustaining a shoulder injury in a single car traffic accident on Dec. 27. He had been hired by Williamson County on Nov. 9, 2020 and was employed by that agency until March 23, 2021.  

Prior to his employment with Williamson County, McAbee was employed by the Cherokee County (Georgia) Sheriff’s Department.  

McAbee was recorded on video, federal investigators state, participating in a 90-second assault on a Capitol Police officer.  

At 4:27 p.m. the rioters assaulted three officers at the Archway entrance to the Capitol. One officer, identified only as AW, was knocked to the ground. The officer’s baton was snatched from him. While AW was on the ground, other rioters kicked officers and beat them with a flagpole and a crutch. It was after officer AW was knocked to the ground that McAbee allegedly joined in the assault. His alleged actions were recorded on police body cameras.  

McAbee and another rioter have been accused pf grabbing officer AW (McAbee allegedly grabbed the officer by his torso and the other rioter grabbed AW’s leg) and attempting to drag him into the crowd. 

Another officer stepped out to come to the aid of AW and McAbee started swinging his arms to stop him, the allegations say/ McAbee then again grabbed AW by the torso and the two slid down the stairs landing with McAbee on top of the officer, according to the allegations. McAbee allegedly pinned AW for approximately 25 seconds. While AW was on the ground his helmet was ripped from his head and he was “kicked, stuck with poles and stomped on by several individuals.” AW sustained a laceration to his head which required two staples to close.  

Also on McAbee’s tactical vest, along with “SHERIFF,” was a patch with the Roman numeral III circled in stars. The Roman numeral III patch is associated with extremists who sometimes call themselves “Three Percenters” or “Threepers.” This association is based on a myth that claims that only 3 percent of the American colonists took up arms against the British during the American Revolution.  

“Some Three Percenters regard the present-day U.S. Government as analogous to British authorities during the American Revolution in terms of infringements on civil liberties,” according to federal prosecutors.  

Three Percenters believe that “a small force with a just cause can overthrow the government if armed and prepared.” Prosecutors also noted other signs of McAbee’s apparent association with extremist ideology.  

While surveilling his Unionville home, prior to his arrest, FBI agents saw he was flying a black American flag on his front porch. That flag was flying the day he was arrested.  

“During the Civil War,” prosecutors wrote, “soldiers flew the black American flag to symbolize the opposite of the white flag of surrender, I.e, that the unit would neither give in nor surrender and it would not show clemency or mercy to a surrendering opponent.”  

Prosecutors of the United States versus Ronald Colton McAbee case also noted that during the Capitol assault, McAbee “attempted to use his status as a law enforcement officer” to get past police into the Capitol.  

At one point, as the mob of rioters pushed toward the entrance, McAbee was apparently being held against the side of the building and asked one of the officers “Can I get in?” McAbee reportedly pointed to the “SHERIFF” patch on his tactical vest and said, “I can’t go back that way, man.”  

Prosecutors asked that McAbee be held in custody pending trial saying he posed a flight risk and that he posed a danger to the community if released.  

“… The fact that McAbee engaged in violent assaults of fellow law enforcement officers while he himself was a sheriff’s deputy and then attempted to use that status to obtain special treatment is powerful evidence of his lack of regard for legal authority,” prosecutors wrote in their motion to keep him in custody.  

McAbee was identified by a “tipster,” according to prosecutors. On Jan. 6, prosecutors say, McAbee, attempted to hide by deleting his Facebook account, “potentially destroying evidence of his whereabouts that day and his motivations for his actions.”  

McAbee is charged with the following federal crimes:  

• Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers Inflicting Bodily Injury and Aiding and Abetting
• Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers
• Civil Disorder
• Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon
• Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon. If convicted on all counts, McAbee could be sentenced to over 20 years in Federal prison.