‘Zip Tie Guy’ Who Invaded the Capitol with His Mom Should Remain Jailed Ahead of Trial, Feds Say

Spotted at the U.S. Capitol insurrection with his mother and hopping around the Senate while holding tactical restraints , so-called “zip tie guy” Eric Gavelek Munchel’s “dangerous and extremely serious” antics should keep him awaiting trial from jail. Those are the arguments prosecutors wrote in a legal brief previewing their arguments for Munchel’s federal court hearing in the Middle District of Tennessee on Friday afternoon. Munchel told a reporter a reporter from The Sunday Times he was ready to “rise up” and “fight if necessary.” “After the rally concluded, Munchel—who was dressed in tactical gear and carried a taser on his hip, and stashed other ‘weapons’ in a tactical bag outside the Capitol—unlawfully entered the U.S. Capitol along with a mob of rioters who smashed windows and broke through doors,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Schrader wrote in a 23-page brief. “Munchel gleefully acquired several sets of plastic handcuffs as he walked through the Capitol and entered the Senate chamber, where only moments earlier the Vice President of the United States was certifying the results of the 2020 Presidential election.” “In the Senate gallery, Munchel stood with a crowd whose members shouted ‘Treason!’ and lamented the disappearance of lawmakers from the chamber moments earlier,” the brief continues. One of the other rioters seen carrying flexicuffs, former U.S. Airman Larry Brock , was previously granted bail even though his prosecutors claimed he aimed to take hostages . Federal prosecutors hope that the same pattern will not repeat with Munchel. “Munchel’s conduct underlying the instant offense—which includes Munchel stashing unknown ‘weapons’ before entering the Capitol, carrying a taser on his person into the Senate gallery, and seizing handcuffs as he and others stormed the building—also demonstrates the danger he poses to the community if released,” they wrote. Four days after the riots, the FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force executed a search warrant upon Munchel’s home in Nashville, and authorities claim that they located the items that he wore during the Capitol siege: the tactical vest with a “Punisher” comic book and Tennessee “thin blue line” patches; a baseball cap depicting a rifle and a flag; and five pairs of white plastic handcuffs. “Agents located a black Stack-On safe, standing approximately 5 feet tall, inside that bedroom,” the brief continues. “Inside a closet in the bedroom, agents also located a .22 caliber revolver. Agents also located dozens of rounds of ammunition inside the bedroom, along with multiple empty and full magazines.” Court papers say that authorities found another stash of weapons once they oped the safe. “During a search of the black Stack-On safe, agents located approximately 15 firearms, including assault rifles, a sniper rifle with a tripod, other rifles, shotguns, and pistols, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition,” prosecutors claim. A video on Munchel’s phone shows him and his mother Lisa Eisenhart mingling around with Oathkeeper militants, prosecutors say. “One of the Oathkeepers says, ‘There’s 65 more of us coming,'” the brief states. “Munchel, when he recognizes them, says in affirmation, ‘Oathkeepers,’ and bumps fists with one of the men.” This is how prosecutors describe Muchel and Eisenhart’s approach to the building: “As Munchel and Eisenhart approach the Capitol, a man can be heard shouting, ‘Congress is shut down! Tear gas packages thrown in the Congress!’ Eisenhart exclaims, ‘They got tear-gassed, motherfuckers! Oh my God. That is [unintelligible] my best day, to know that they got tear-gassed.’ Other people in the crowd can be heard screaming, “Fuck that, this is our house!”As MUNCHEL and Eisenhart crawl through a broken metal guardrail outside the Capitol, MUNCHEL can also be heard saying, “Hell yeah, baby!” Munchel’s detention hearing starts at 1 p.m. Central Time. (Eric Gavelek Munchel via Win McNamee at Getty Images) The post ‘Zip Tie Guy’ Who Invaded the Capitol with His Mom Should Remain Jailed Ahead of Trial, Feds Say first appeared on Law & Crime .
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