[Insider]
“Eric Munchel, a pro-Trump rioter who stormed the Capitol building while holding plastic handcuffs, took the restraints from a table inside the Capitol building, prosecutors said in a court filing Wednesday.”
“Munchel, who broke into the building with his mom, was labeled “zip-tie guy” after he was photographed barreling down the Senate chamber holding the restraints. His appearance raised questions about whether the insurrectionists who sought to stop Congress from counting Electoral College votes on January 6 also intended to take lawmakers hostage.”
“But according to the new filing, Munchel and his mother took the handcuffs from within the Capitol building — apparently to ensure the Capitol Police couldn’t use them on the insurrectionists — rather than bring them in when they initially breached the building.”
“”As MUNCHEL and [his mother, Lisa Eisenhart,] are attempting to leave, Eisenhart says words to the effect of, ‘Don’t carry the zip ties, just get ’em out of their hand,'” the filing says.”
“Video footage reviewed by prosecutors also suggests Munchel and his mother carried weapons while in Washington, DC — despite the district’s strict gun laws — and abandoned them only before they got into the building.”
“”We’re going straight to federal prison if we go in there with weapons,” Eisenhart told Munchel before they entered the Capitol building, according to prosecutors.”
“Overall, the Department of Justice has given mixed messages about the rioters’ plans.”
“In a filing seeking the detention of “QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley, for example, prosecutors said he planned to “capture and assassinate elected officials” before walking back on that claim.”
2021-week14
