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Ex-Federal Prosecutor Who Worked On Jan 6 Cases Faces Charges After Alleged Road Rage Stabbing

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1 year ago

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A former federal prosecutor is accused of stabbing a motorist and threatening to stab a couple after a road rage incident in Florida on Tuesday. Patrick Scruggs, 38, worked for the U.S. Attorney’s Office from 2013 through 2023 and was involved with multiple cases stemming from the January 6 Capitol protests.

Scruggs was arrested Tuesday after an alleged fit of rage after a three-car pileup on the Howard Frankland Bridge. Florida State Police said the former federal prosecutor bashed through a car window and proceeded to stab the driver several times. According to police, the driver had passed out behind the wheel just before the accident and subsequent stabbing.

Witness Tara Iglinski took photos of the aftermath in which Scruggs can be seen standing outside the vehicle with his arms raised, according to Fox 13. The victim’s arms — which were covered in blood — can also be seen in the photos.

“I was trying to figure out what had caused that,” Iglinski told Fox 13.

After the driver had passed out, a couple stopped their vehicle and attempted to wake him up. While one of the Good Samaritans was retrieving something that could help break the window, the man then accelerated forward, hit the car belonging to the couple who attempted to help. He then hit Scruggs’ vehicle as well.

At that point, Scruggs reportedly exited his vehicle armed with a pocketknife and proceeded to stab the victim. When the couple attempted to intervene, Scruggs allegedly chased them off and attempted to stab them as well.

“It’s just so sad that someone would react in that way,” Iglinski said. “There’s so much road rage nowadays.”

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Scruggs had recently left the U.S. attorney’s office for a private sector job with Barnes and Thornburg, an Atlanta-based law firm.

While serving as a federal prosecutor, Scruggs worked on a number of January 6 cases involving Florida residents. In one notable example, Scruggs was involved with the case of Adam Johnson, commonly known as the “lectern guy” after he was photographed with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern during the January 6 Capitol protests.

“This is a serious case. Everyone involved in the storming of the Capitol last week needs to be held accountable for their actions,” Scruggs said in relation to the case.

Johnson commented Scruggs’ arrest, saying, “Meet the guy who prosecuted me in Tampa for walking in a building on January 6th.”

“My crimes were so egregious that he demanded I wear an ankle monitor, be drugged tested at random, surrender my passports, be restricted to middle district of Florida, and given a nightly curfew,” Johnson wrote in an X post. “What restrictions do you think he should get for stabbing a man repeatedly in public?”

Scruggs was arrested shortly after the incident and faces charges of aggravated battery, aggravated assault and armed burglary. The victim was hospitalized for serious injuries, Newsweek reported.

The attorney was released from the Pinellas County Jail on Tuesday after posting his $65,000 bail. A number of January 6 defendants were held for months or in some cases, years without bail.



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