Nashville – A federal judge on Sunday blocked the release of a man that Tennessee officials say was carrying flexible plastic handcuffs during the US Capitol riot. United States District Judge Beryl A. Howell of the District of Columbia also ordered that he be taken to Washington for further prosecution.
Howell overturned an order issued Friday by a judge in Tennessee about the release of Nashville’s Eric Munchel, who paved the way for Munchel’s release as early as Monday. Howell suspended the lower court order pending a review.
Two protesters were seen carrying zipper ties during the Capitol devastation. Munchel was nicknamed “the zip tie guy” on social media.
After testimony at a detention hearing on Friday, Judge Jeffrey Frensley, of central Tennessee, ruled that Munchel was not a flight hazard and did not represent harm to the public.
Federal prosecutors argued that Munchel’s crimes are serious enough to stop him pending trial to ensure the safety of the community.
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According to court records, an FBI search of Munchel’s home revealed the tactical equipment he used in the January 6 invasion of the Capitol, five pairs of plastic handcuffs, multiple weapons, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and a magazine drum style.
Munchel is accused of 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 arrest on January 10, when he surrendered to the authorities.
In a memo in support of the arrest, prosecutors said Munchel traveled to Washington with his mother, Lisa Eisenhart, who was also charged in the Capitol riot. The two participated in Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally, in which the former president repeated his baseless allegations of electoral fraud and urged the crowd to march to the Capitol and “fight like hell”.
Court documents allege that Munchel went to the Senate chamber a few minutes after the chamber was evacuated.
Munchel “considered himself a revolutionary, along the lines of those who overthrew the British government in the American Revolution,” according to court documents. He was “dressed for combat” in “combat boots, military uniform, tactical vest, gloves and a gaiter that covered the entire face, except the eyes,” the documents say. He also used a stun gun on his hip and a cell phone on his chest to record events.
WUSA says the Frensley order’s emergency appeal filed by the US District Attorney for the District of Columbia Michael Sherwin included a claim that was not made at Friday’s hearing: that Munchel was part of a group that had attacked and threatened a Bloomberg reporter that they had mistakenly identified as “antifa”.
The appeal argued that, contrary to Frensley’s decision, Munchel could not “make any serious claims that he went to the Capitol on January 6 with the intention of engaging in peaceful protest or civil disobedience.”
“Instead,” wrote lawyers for the Department of Justice, “the evidence supports the conclusion that he intended to contribute to the chaos, obstruct the Electoral College certification and sow fear.”