A retired Air Force officer who was part of the crowd that haunted the US Capitol last week loaded plastic zip-tie handcuffs because he intended to “take hostages,” said a prosecutor in a Texas court on Thursday.
“He intends to take hostages. He intends to kidnap, restrict, maybe try, maybe execute members of the US government,” Assistant Attorney Jay Weimer said of retired lieutenant colonel Larry Rendall Brock Jr. He did not provide details.
The prosecutor argued that Brock should be detained, but Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton said he would release Brock for confinement at home. Cureton ordered Brock to hand over any firearms and said he could have limited access to the internet as conditions for this release.
GrapevineTexas Police Department via AP
“I need to put it on a very short rope,” said Cureton. “We live in strange times for our country and the concerns raised by the government do not fall on the deaf.”
Brock appeared in court with a light green coverall, mask and handcuffs on his hands and feet.
Weimer did not detail a specific Brock plan, but noted that “his previous experience and training makes him even more dangerous”.
He also read Brock’s social media messages in court, including one posted on the Capitol riot day that read, “Patriots on Capitol Hill. Patriots attacking. Armed men need to shoot to get in.”
Brock was arrested on Sunday in Texas after being photographed in the Senate floor during the deadly rebellion wearing a heavy helmet and vest and carrying zippered plastic cuffs. The 53-year-old man is accused of intentionally entering or staying in a restricted building or land without legal authority, and of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol Hill.
Brock’s lawyer, Brook Antonio II, noted that Brock was only charged with misdemeanors. Antonio said there was no direct evidence of Brock breaking doors or windows to enter the Capitol, or doing anything violent once inside.
“It’s all talk. It’s all speculation and conjecture,” said Antonio, who noted Brock’s long service in the army, including being reactivated after 9/11 and his four trips to Afghanistan.
Weimer said Brock is likely to face additional costs.
More than 100 people were arrested in the Capitol riot, with charges ranging from violations of the curfew to serious federal crimes related to theft and possession of weapons.
Win McNamee / Getty images
The FBI is investigating whether some of the protesters planned to kidnap members of Congress and hold them hostage.
Before his arrest, Brock told The New Yorker that he found the zippered handcuffs on the floor and that he planned to give them to a police officer.
“I wish I hadn’t taken those,” he said.
There was no evidence presented that Brock had a firearm on the day of the Capitol riot.
Antonio asked an FBI agent who was testifying if it was possible that Brock had just picked up the handcuffs, and the agent acknowledged it was a possibility.
Weimer read a letter of termination from Brock’s former employer saying he had spoken in the workplace about killing people of a “specific religion or race”. Weimer also read social media posts in which Brock referred to an approaching civil war and the election being stolen from President Donald Trump.
Weimer said Brock’s posts also referred to the extreme right and anti-government Oath Keepers and Three Percenters, an anti-government network that is part of the militia movement. The Oath Keepers claim to have thousands of law enforcement officers and current and former military veterans as members.
The FBI agent testified that there was no evidence other than social media posts that Brock was involved with any of these groups.
Judges across the country, including some nominated by Trump, have repeatedly rejected cases contesting election results, and Attorney General William Barr said there was no sign of widespread fraud.