Dallas man charged over Capitol siege arrested wearing 'I Was There, Washington, D.C., Jan. 6, 2021' T-shirt
When law enforcement officers arrested Garret Miller at his Dallas home on Jan. 20 for his actions during and after the Capitol siege, he was wearing a T-shirt with "Take America Back," a picture of former President Donald Trump, and the words "I Was There, Washington, D.C., January 6, 2021," federal prosecutors said in a court filing Monday. Miller also called for the "execution" of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and the lynching of a Black Capitol Police officer, the filing said.
A grand jury in February indicted Miller on 12 counts, including civil disorder, death threats, trespassing, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers. He has not yet had a chance to enter a plea, but he has a virtual court hearing scheduled for Thursday on whether he should remain in pre-trial detention. Miller is currently being detained in Oklahoma City pending transfer to Washington, D.C. His transfer is on hold because he broke his collarbone playing soccer in a Dallas jail.
"Like many of the more than 300 people facing federal charges in connection with the siege, Miller thoroughly documented and commented on his actions that day in a flurry of social media posts," The Associated Press reports. After he posted a selfie of himself in the Capitol, for example, he told a friend on Facebook he "just wanted to incriminate myself a little lol."
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In the days after Jan. 6, Miller tweeted "Assassinate AOC" at Ocasio-Cortez, prosecutors say, and in a Jan. 10 Instagram post, he said the unidentified Capitol Police officer who fatally shot rioter Ashli Babbitt should be executed on TV. Miller was obsessed with identifying the officer, and he eventually blamed a Black officer, posting his photo on Facebook. He said on Instagram the officer is "a prize to be taken," adding "He will swing. ... I had a rope in my bag on that day," prosecutors said. In a Jan. 18 Facebook conversation, he repeatedly advocated murdering the officer, saying at one point, "We going to get a hold of him and hug his neck with a nice rope."
A search of Miller's home found two ropes, several firearms, body armor, ammunition, and a crossbow, the filing says.
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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