A North Texas man who federal officials say made numerous posts on social media about participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the United States Capitol has been arrested on federal charges.
Garret Miller, 34, of Richardson was arrested Wednesday on charges of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted buildings or grounds without lawful authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, obstructing or impeding any official proceeding and certain acts during civil disorder.
Two days after the riot, law enforcement sent the FBI information about a tweet from a Twitter account determined to belong to Miller. The tweet included a 14-second video from inside the U.S. Capitol rotunda posted at 6:56 p.m. on Jan. 6 with the caption "From inside congress," according to the federal statement of facts filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The court documents detail further review of Miller's social media accounts, including numerous posts leading up to the riot and in the days that followed, and a photo of Miller inside the rotunda wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat.
In a Jan. 3 Facebook post included in the federal documents, Miller stated he was bringing "a grappling hook and rope and a level 3 vest. Helmets mouth guard and bump cap.â The documents also state Miller said the last time he went to Washington D.C. for a rally in support of President Donald Trump he had "a lot of guns."
In the Facebook comments under a selfie of Miller inside the Capitol, one person said, "bro you got in?! Nice!" to which Miller replied, "just wanted to incriminate myself a little lol," the court document stated.
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The document also includes photos from surveillance video inside the Capitol rotunda that show a man identified as Miller wearing a red hat and carrying an American flag and Trump flag.
In addition to posts on his own social media accounts, Miller replied in comments to others. In response to one tweet that stated "The people storming The Capitol are not Patriots. They are PAID INFILTRATORS," Miller replied, "Nah we stormed it. We where [sic] gentle. We where [sic] unarmed. We knew what had to be done ...," according to the document.
In other social media comments included in the federal document, Miller posted threats of violence against a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Capitol Police.
The Twitter accounts listed for Miller in the document has been suspended and the Facebook account is not active.
Following his arrest Wednesday, Miller was held in the Dallas County jail before he was transferred to federal custody early Friday morning. According to jail records, Miller also faced a charge for threats.
A detention hearing is scheduled for Monday, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Federal charges have been filed against at least 115 people associated with the riot, including North Texans Larry Rendall Brock of Grapevine, Nolan Cooke of Savoy, Jennifer Leigh Ryan of Frisco, Guy Wesley Reffitt of Wylie and Troy Anthony Smocks of Dallas.
