'It's a war trophy': Neo-Nazi charged with stealing cop's helmet during Jan. 6 riot

A suspected neo-Nazi from New Hampshire has been arrested in connection with his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

According to court documents, Richard Zachary Ackerman stole a U.S. Capitol police helmet and affixed a sticker affiliated with the "New England 131" white nationalist group during the riot. The FBI received a tip about him two days after the deadly event, reported NBC News correspondent Ryan J. Reilly.

A confidential informant who has not been charged with any crimes attended a gathering of the neo-Nazi group in 2021 and reported that Ackerman, who referred to himself as "Zach Parker," told other members he had been present at the riot and picked up a police helmet from the ground and put the sticker on it.

Ackerman flew to Germany in July 2021 and returned to the U.S. the following month, when he was questioned by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and admitted to being in Washington on the day of the insurrection, the filing said. He also admitted to finding the helmet but denied taking it home.

He consented to a search of his cell phone, which turned up a conversation with two associates confirming he had participated in the siege.

"I'm on the top of the capital Ackerman," he told someone identified as "Jen." "Yes. I got tear gassed & had to carry this girl out of the gassing zone."

"It got really f--king crazy," he said later in the conversation. "Call me. I was right there, in the eye of it. I stole a SWAT Team officers helmet ... It’s a war trophy."

He also had a photo of himself wearing the helmet and confirmed to someone identified as "Aunt Jen" that he had stolen it during the riot.

“I stormed the capital, & I grabbed a helmet off of the SWAT team," he said. “I ripped a chair out of the office & circled it around... it ended up getting thrown at the police.”

The FBI obtained a search warrant for his family's home in Salem, Massachusetts, and he told agents the helmet was stashed inside a chimney flue, where they found it.

Ackerman was charged with obstructing or interfering with a law enforcement officer; forcibly assaulting or impeding a person engaged in the performance of official duties; and stealing property belonging to an agency or department of the United States.