Nashville A federal judge on Sunday blocked the release of a Tennessee government official and said they were wearing flexible plastic shackles during the riots at the US Capitol. U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell of the District of Columbia also ordered that he be brought to Washington for further proceedings.
Howell issued an order issued by a judge in Tennessee on Friday over the release of Eric Munchel of Nashville, who had already cleared the way for Munchel’s release on Monday. Howell upheld the lower court’s decision pending a review.
Two rioters were spotted with zippers during the devastation in the Capitol. Munchel has been called “the zip-tie guy” on social media.
After the testimony during a detention hearing Friday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Frensley in the Central District of Tennessee ruled that Munchel was not a flight risk and did not harm the public.
Federal prosecutors have argued that Munchel’s offenses are serious enough to keep him pending trial to ensure community safety.
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According to court records, an FBI investigation into Munchel’s home revealed the tactical equipment he was carrying during the January 6 storm of the Capitol, five pairs of plastic handcuffs, multiple weapons, hundreds of shots of ammunition and a drum-style magazine.
Munchel is charged with violent entry and disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds, conspiracy and civil disorder. He faces up to 20 years if convicted.
Munchel has been in federal custody since his January 10 arrest, when he surrendered to authorities.
In a memorandum in support of detention, prosecutors said Munchel traveled to Washington with his mother, Lisa Eisenhart, who was also charged in the riot in the Capitol. The two took part in Donald Trump’s’ Stop the Steal ‘rally in which the former president reiterated his unfounded allegations of election fraud and urged the crowd to march to the Capitol and’ fight like hell. ‘
In court documents, it is alleged that Munchel entered the Senate chamber a few minutes after the chamber was evacuated.
Munchel ‘saw himself as a revolutionary, in the form of those who overthrew the British government in the American Revolution’, according to court documents. He was “dressed for a fight” with “combat boots, military fatigue, a tactical vest, gloves and a robe that covered his entire face except his eyes,” the document reads. He also carried a shock gun on his hip and mounted a cellphone to his chest to record events.
WUSA says the emergency call from Frensley’s order filed by U.S. District Attorney Michael Sherwin included an allegation that was not presented at Friday’s trial: that Munchel was part of a group that was a reporter of Bloomberg who wrongly assaulted, assaulted and threatened them. identified as ‘antifa’.
The appeal argued that Munchel, contrary to Frensley’s ruling, “could not make any serious allegation that he went to the Capitol on January 6, with the intention of engaging in peaceful protest or civil disobedience.”
“Instead,” Justice Department attorneys wrote, “the evidence supports the conclusion that he intended to contribute to chaos, hamper the certification of the Electoral College, and sow fear.”