Memphis Commercial Appeal
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A Tennessee man who had expressed pro-Trump views and was accused by online researchers of carrying plastic hand restraints in the U.S. Senate during the Capitol riot Wednesday, has been arrested.
The Nashville man, Eric Munchel, 30, was being held in a Nashville jail Sunday on a federal warrant, online records show. An FBI spokesperson, Samantha Shero, confirmed the arrest.
The federal prosecutor s office in Washington is handling the case. Photos depicting his presence show a person who appears to be Munchel carrying plastic restraints, an item in a holster on his right hip, and a cellphone mounted on his chest with the camera facing outward, ostensibly to record events that day, the office said in a news release, which identifies him by his full name, Eric Gavelek Munchel.
Extremists recently plotted to storm a state Capitol, take hostages
The Michigan extremists eventually shifted their focus, from a siege on the state capitol to kidnapping Gov. Gretchen Whitmer from her home. The FBI announced the arrest of 13 people, on federal and state charges, in October.
Ari Weil, deputy research director for the University of Chicago s Militant Propaganda Analysis team, said the zip ties seen at the Capitol Wednesday are reminiscent of the Michigan plot and suggest a desire to conduct vigilante justice against members of Congress .
Malcolm Nance, a retired Navy counter-terrorism intelligence officer of 35 years and
New York Times bestselling author of multiple books on national security, said he had the same thought as Weil when the zip-ties and tactical gear appeared on social media in the aftermath of the first breach of the building in more than 200 years.
A man holding pairs of zip-tie handcuffs was photographed during the riot at the US Capitol on Wednesday, January 6. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is now searching for the unknown man in head-to-toe paramilitary gear. But he was not the only one. There was another man who was recently identified as an Air Force veteran.
According to experts, the unidentified man, who was not with security, was among the rioters who disrupted US Congress certification of Joe Biden s election win with violence. The man s tactical gear had symbols indicating support for military and police and had a thin blue line in the shape of Tennessee.