On Thursday, July 15, a former Central Florida police officer with ties to the white nationalist group The Proud Boys was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for charges stemming from the January insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Building.
Nathaniel A. Tuck, a former Apopka police officer—along with his father Kevin A. Tuck, who is also a former officer with the Windermere Police Department—are now both facing multiple federal charges, including aiding and abetting, obstructing a law enforcement officer, entering restricted grounds, obstructing an official proceeding, disorderly conduct inside the Capitol building, and parading or picketing inside an official building, reports the Orlando Sentinel.
The 29-year-old Nathaniel Tuck worked for the Apopka Police Department from 2018 to September 2020, but according to screengrabs obtained by Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, Tuck was also affiliated with the extremist group The Proud Boys while he was an active police officer.
In posts from the first week of July 2019, taken from the Telegram recruiting channel for the Central Florida “Space Force” chapter of the Proud Boys, Tuck tells recruits that he joined the group after watching hours of antifa videos on YouTube.
“Anyone else decide to join after seeing antifa videos online? Lol. I got myself in a rabbit hole on YouTube and watched 6 hours of videos of antifa attacking people,” wrote Tuck. “I was like ‘Fuck this, I’m joining the Proud Boys’ lol.”
The chapter’s vice president Arthur Jackman, who is also facing charges related to Jan. 6 and has a spouse who is currently an active officer with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, then responds: “It was a combination of things for me, but seeing Antifa emerge was one part.”
Tuck then explains that YouTube exposed him to videos of Proud Boy founder Gavin McInnes, who he says “spoke truth.”
“I watched hours of antifa videos which then led me to Gavin videos. He spoke truth, Which sparked my interest,” said Tuck.
In what appears to be Tuck’s profile, the former police officer states he found the group by “researching online” and that he joined “because he I see an increase in radical leftist ideology that is beginning to effect my life. I don’t want to stand by while the very foundation of America is being eroded by insane communists. And I also want to fight antifa.”
CL reached out to the Apopka Police Department for further comment, and will update this story if it gets back to us. Tuck’s lawyer was also unavailable for comment.
According to the Sentinel, prosecutors say Nathaniel Tuck attempted to strike an officer with his open hand and his elbow, while inside the U.S. Capitol. Both Tuck and his father also sent text messages to family members during the riot, bragging about being inside the building and fighting cops.
“We stormed the Capitol, fought the police,” said Kevin Tuck to family. “… We took the flag. It’s our flag.”
During yesterday’s court appearance, U.S. Magistrate Judge Embry Kidd agreed to release both men on bond under multiple conditions, including they would relinquish their firearms. However, Nathaniel Tuck’s wife, who is a Longwood police officer, will be allowed to keep her agency-issued weapons.
As of now, Florida has more individuals charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack than anywhere else in the nation, and has the most charges connected to far-right extremist groups, like the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys.
Support local journalism in these crazy days. Our small but mighty team works tirelessly to bring you news on how coronavirus is affecting Tampa and surrounding areas. Please consider making a one time or monthly donation to help support our staff. Every little bit helps.
Subscribe to our newsletter and follow @cl_tampabay on Twitter.
This article appears in Jul 22-28, 2021.