A shocking incident involving the U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the Jan. 6 “Lectern guy” unfolded Tuesday in Tampa, Florida. Patrick Douglas Scruggs, 38, was arrested after allegedly stabbing a motorist in a road rage attack and then threatening someone who tried to intervene.
The Tampa Bay Times reported Scruggs worked for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the city from 2013 until this year. Last spring he left for the Atlanta-based Barnes and Thornburg private law firm.
The Florida Highway Patrol reported a 40-year-old Tampa man was on Interstate 275 Tuesday morning when he saw a car stopped in the travel lanes. The 35-year-old driver was slumped over the steering wheel but then awakened and sped forward.
Investigators said at that point his vehicle rammed that of Scruggs.
The former prosecutor then allegedly exited his vehicle with a pocketknife. Troopers said he broke the man’s car window and began stabbing him. The first driver who stopped attempted to intervene along with his wife, but investigators reported that Scruggs turned on them with the knife.
Tampa: Beware of Patrick Douglas Scruggs. Not only is he accused of stabbing this man on the bridge, but also of attempting to stab the couple who was trying to assist the stabbing victim! https://t.co/l875YRhqpo
— Adeline (@QuidProLizardo) September 27, 2023
They fled and were not injured.
The 35-year-old driver was transported to a local hospital with several cuts that were described as “serious but not life-threatening.”
Scruggs was charged with aggravated battery, aggravated assault and armed burglary. He reportedly was released from the Pinellas County Jail after posting a $65,000 bail.
The former prosecutor attempted to bring the hammer down on Adam Johnson, the Jan. 6 protester who was infamously photographed carrying a lectern in the Capitol.
Scruggs asked the judge to implement numerous restrictions on Johnson that included drug testing, a nightly curfew and surrendering his passport. “This is a serious case,” he told U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher Tuite.
He added that “everyone involved in the storming of the Capitol last week needs to be held accountable for their actions, including Mr. Johnson.
The defendant was sentenced last year to 75 days in jail.
On Wednesday, Johnson posted his response on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Meet the guy who prosecuted me in Tampa for walking into a building on Jan. 6…What restrictions do you think he should get for stabbing a man repeatedly in public?”
