Federal prosecutors in Oregon say a man is facing federal charges after he assaulted a courthouse security officer, who then shot him. Jett Avery Thomas, 39, is charged with assaulting a federal employee with a hazardous weapon and causing bodily harm, according to a news release from the U.S. District Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.
According to a criminal complaint written by FBI agent Joseph Youngblood, Thomas assaulted a Pioneer Courthouse security officer early on Monday morning (3 July). The complaint states that Thomas charged up the courthouse steps, forced his way inside, and struck the officer multiple times in the head.
According to the complaint, Thomas then forced the officer outside, where he continued to strike him, placed him in a chokehold, and struck him in the head with the officer’s handheld radio. When Thomas was distracted by a bystander calling at him to stop, the security officer went for his gun and fired two rounds into Thomas’s torso, according to the complaint.
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According to a press release from the U.S. District Attorney’s Office in Oregon, Thomas was transported to a hospital for surgery. The officer was also transported to a hospital for treatment before being released. The officer had reason to fear death or serious injury when Thomas choked him and struck him with the radio, which “constituted assault with a dangerous weapon,” according to the complaint filed by Youngblood.
Many additional media outlets have reported on the story and spread the word via social media –
Federal security officer shoots man near Pioneer Courthouse in downtown Portland https://t.co/ljbxV3cdUH
— Your Oregon News (@YourOregonNews) July 3, 2023
PORTLAND — A man is facing federal charges after he attacked a courthouse security officer, who shot him, federal prosecutors in Oregon said.
Read more… https://t.co/B2gV06mZ7x— The Columbian (@thecolumbian) July 6, 2023
An Oregon man has been charged with attacking a court security officer at a federal courthouse in Portland. Prosecutors say the man held the officer in a chokehold and smashed him in the head with a police radio before the security officer shot him. https://t.co/MLFRmjTKIs
— Mike Balsamo (@MikeBalsamo1) July 6, 2023
Uncertainty persisted as to whether Thomas had a defense attorney assigned to his case. The release stated that Thomas will make his first appearance in federal court at a later date. If found guilty, he faces up to twenty years in federal prison.
