WASHINGTON – A Tennessee man photographed inside the Capitol on Jan. 6 wearing tactical gear and plastic zippered handcuffs will be kept in prison while his criminal case moves on, a federal judge in Washington ruled on Wednesday.
In a 17-page opinion, US District Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington, DC, agreed with federal prosecutors that there was no release for Eric Munchel and his co-defendant and mother Lisa Eisenhart who “would reasonably guarantee the safety of the community . ”Munchel and Eisenhart represent“ a clear danger to our republic, ”concluded the judge.
“Given Munchel’s blatant actions in front of hundreds of police and manifest disregard for the rule of law, the Court is not convinced that Munchel would fulfill any conditions of release,” wrote Lamberth. “Munchel indicated that he would be willing to act against Congress again, and nothing less than pre-trial detention can prevent him from doing so.”
The judge described Eisenhart as “a self-confessed, aspiring martyr”, noting that after the riot she gave an interview to the media where she said “she would rather die as a 57-year-old woman than live under oppression” and “Prefer to fight” . Lamberth wrote that this was evidence that Eisenhart, like Munchel, was willing to “repeat his behavior” if he was allowed to return home.
During a hearing on Wednesday, lawyers for Munchel and Eisenhart argued before Lamberth that, as their clients were not charged with assaulting anyone or destroying property, this undermined the government’s argument that they were a danger to the community. But Lamberth wrote that “the description of the alleged offenses as mere invasion or civil disobedience is not very persuasive and disconnected from reality”.
“Attacking the Capitol to interrupt the counting of electoral votes is not the same as a peaceful demonstration,” wrote the judge.
The vast majority of the more than 200 people accused of participating in the insurrection were allowed to return home while their cases were pending without objection from prosecutors. Judges in these cases generally impose travel restrictions and some defendants are under house arrest. In a small number of cases, prosecutors advocated pre-trial detention based on the fact that defendants represent a danger to the community or a risk of escape; they tend to reserve these requests for cases involving people accused of assaulting police officers, carrying weapons, planning violence in advance or assuming any kind of leadership role in attacking the Capitol.
Munchel was arrested in Tennessee on January 10, four days after the Capitol insurrection; Eisenhart was arrested on January 16. Both went to court in Tennessee, where the government unsuccessfully asked a federal judge to keep them in custody. Prosecutors rushed to the federal court in Washington – where all Capitol cases are finally being processed – to appeal the release of Munchel and Eisenhart, and a judge agreed to temporarily keep them in prison pending another round of review of the issue of detention.
On February 12, a federal grand jury returned an indictment that charged them along with three criminal charges: obstruction of an official process, entry into a restricted building or land with a dangerous weapon and involvement in violent entry or disorderly conduct with a dangerous weapon. . According to prosecutors, Munchel was carrying a Taser when he entered the Capitol, and he and Eisenhart could be heard in a video that Munchel recorded that day discussing how to hide other weapons outside the Capitol; they are also accused of picking up zip plastic handcuffs from the US Capitol Police, known as “flexicuffs”, inside the building.
Government court documents describe how Munchel’s video captures him and Eisenhart inciting other troublemakers and helping people climb a wall in front of the Capitol. At one point, prosecutors say that an unidentified person can be heard saying to Munchel and Eisenhart as they approach the Capitol: “You guys seem ready to go”, and Munchel answering, “Fucking ready to fuck the shit.”
Prosecutors also noted in the detention memorandum that when Munchel and Eisenhart came across an unidentified person distributing flexicuffs from an office, Munchel could be heard in his video saying, “Zip ties! I need to get some of those motherfuckers. “Prosecutors described the two as part of a crowd in search of members of Congress and argued that Munchel grabbed the handcuffs” understanding that they are instruments of restraint and kidnapping. “
Lamberth heard arguments on Wednesday. United States Attorney Attorney Ahmed Baset began his presentation by saying that Munchel and Eisenhart arrived at the Capitol wearing “full combat equipment” – Munchel in military uniforms, tactical vest and facial cover that showed only his eyes and Eisenhart with tactical vest. Baset argued that Munchel and Eisenhart not only took the plastic cuffs, but did so “with joy”. Baset also said that Munchel and Eisenhart showed no remorse after the turmoil, and he told Lamberth that the government sent texts via the secure messaging app Signal after Jan. 6 that seemed to show Munchel expressing interest in joining the Proud Boys, a group far-right extremist who described his members as “western chauvinists”.
Munchel and Eisenhart are charged together, but have their own lawyers. Munchel’s lawyer Sandra Roland argued on Wednesday that the fact that Munchel had taken steps to surrender and hand over evidence from his phone showed that he was not a risk of escape, and noted that he did not have a history of violence . Both she and Eisenhart’s lawyer, Gregory Smith, focused on the fact that none of the defendants were accused of injuring someone or destroying property, and asked Lamberth to adopt the Tennessee judge’s order by releasing them both under house arrest.
“He did not practice violence. He did not threaten violence. He didn’t encourage anyone to get involved in violence, ”said Roland of Munchel.
Roland argued that Munchel had come to Washington to protest and send a “message”, an argument that prompted Lamberth to jump and pressure her to explain why Munchel picked up the plastic cuffs when he was inside the Capitol.
“It also sends a message, doesn’t it?” asked the judge.
Roland argued that the government did not provide evidence of Munchel’s intention to carry the handcuffs and that, in the end, he did not use them.
“Fortunately,” Lamberth joked in response.
Smith accused prosecutors of exaggerating the evidence of what Munchel and Eisenhart did during the approximately 10 minutes that were inside the Capitol; he said the Tennessee judge did not agree that the government would support the allegation that Eisenhart pursued police officers. He also argued that Lamberth should focus on whether Eisenhart, who had no previous criminal record, posed a risk to the community in the future, rather than what happened on January 6.
What did the government fear Eisenhart would do, Smith asked, “now that Donald Trump is no longer in office, now that the electoral vote has been confirmed, now that there is a fence around the Capitol?”
Baset responded to Smith by arguing that the “conditions” that led to the violent attack on the Capitol “were still present”, pointing to the presence of the National Guard in Washington and assessments of threats related to possible demonstrations in early March. Baset did not elaborate on the threat assessments, but Newsweek reported this week that police officers are monitoring potential activity around March 4, a significant date for followers of the collective QAnon delusion. He argued that the “extraordinary circumstances” of these cases justified pre-trial detention, saying that Munchel and Eisenhart “felt entitled” to enter the Capitol while Congress was in session, and that they were “dressed for combat, dressed for violence. “.
Munchel’s lawyer noted that he could be heard on a video admonishing others inside the Capitol not to break anything. Baset argued that giving weight to this argument would be like giving a thief credit for not breaking a vase.
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