Protesters supporting U.S. President Donald Trump break into the U.S. Capitol on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Win McNamee | Getty Photographs
A Dallas-area man who joined a violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol earlier this month has been charged with making a dying risk in a social media publish in opposition to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Garret Miller, 34, of Richardson, Texas was arrested earlier this week on a number of fees associated to the Capitol riot, in response to a federal criticism.
Miller’s legal professional, Clinton Broden, instructed CNBC that the costs in opposition to his consumer have been upgraded to incorporate a risk cost on Tuesday, a day earlier than he was arrested in Richardson. The upgraded cost got here comparatively quickly after the preliminary criticism was filed in Washington, D.C. federal courtroom, Broden mentioned.
The opposite fees embrace coming into or remaining in any restricted buildings or grounds with out lawful authority; violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; obstructing or impeding any official continuing and sure acts throughout civil dysfunction.
The risk cost in opposition to Miller is predicated on the declare by prosecutors that he threatened Rep. Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., throughout state strains on social media. It carries a most attainable sentence of 5 years in jail.
Miller wrote “Assassinate AOC” in a Twitter publish, in response to the criticism. Miller additionally allegedly posted about coming into the Capitol constructing on his Instagram account and admitted that he “had a rope in [his] bag on that day.”
Miller additionally threatened a Capitol Police officer who shot lifeless a girl making an attempt to breach the Capitol constructing in the course of the riot. “We going to come up with [the USCP officer] and hug his neck with a pleasant rope[.],” Miller mentioned, in response to the criticism.
“Mr. Miller regrets the actions he took in a misguided effort to indicate his help for former President Trump,” Broden mentioned. “He has the complete help of his household and has at all times been a law-abiding citizen.”
“His social media feedback mirror very ill-considered political hyperbole in very divided instances and will definitely not be repeated sooner or later,” Broden continued. “He appears to be like ahead to placing all of this behind him.”
Broden added that he would not consider there may be proof that Miller deliberate to hold out the threats.
Miller is because of seem Monday for a detention listening to in Dallas federal courtroom. Prosecutors have mentioned they need him detained pending trial, however Broden mentioned he’ll argue for Miller’s conditional launch pending trial in Washington.
Ocasio-Cortez responded to the criticism detailing Miller allegedly bragging on-line about his function within the riot, writing in a tweet: “On one hand you need to chortle, and on the opposite know that the rationale they have been this brazen is as a result of they thought they have been going to succeed.”
Ocasio-Cortez has beforehand mentioned she feared for her life in the course of the riot and members of Congress have been “almost assassinated.”
“I didn’t know if I used to be going to make it to the tip of that day alive, and never simply in a normal sense but in addition in a really, very particular sense,” the Democratic consultant mentioned in an Instagram Stay video on Jan. 12, with out elaborating the main points.