Eric Munchel Wiki
Eric Munchel Biography
Eric Munchel of Tennessee and Larry Rendell Brock of Texas, a retired Air Force Reserve officer, are featured in some of the most recognizable photos of rioters that have circulated online since the attack.
Two law enforcement officials previously told CNN that Munchel was seen on Jan. 6 in photos and videos showing him inside the U.S. Capitol wearing black paramilitary gear with plastic restraints, an article in a holster on his right hip and a cell phone mounted on his chest with the camera facing outward, ostensibly to record the events of that day.
Records from the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee show Munchel is being held on behalf of federal authorities. Munchel was charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or land without legal authority and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds.
Court records describing Munchel’s allegations in more detail were not yet available from the Justice Department Sunday night.
A person named Eric Munchel previously worked at Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk, a bar and concert venue on Broadway Avenue in Nashville, owner Steve Smith confirmed Saturday. Smith said Munchel was fired 60 days ago and refused to share the circumstances of his firing.
A Facebook profile with Munchel’s name and picture indicated that he worked as a bartender at Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille, a company with four locations in Florida. The company posted a statement on its Facebook page Friday night acknowledging that “a former employee of ours from more than 2 years ago was involved in the recent events at the Capitol building.” The post went on to say that the company “There is no affiliation with this employee and his shares were his.”
Arrested and charged
Eric Munchel of Nashville, who was accused by online investigators of being one of the men who brought bridles to the U.S. Capitol during Wednesday’s riot, was arrested and now faces federal charges.
After photos of a masked man dressed in paramilitary gear and wearing bridles surfaced online in the US Senate chamber, people began referring to him as the “guy with the ties” on social media. That online investigation coincided with the FBI’s call for clues leading to the identification of the rioters seen in the photos.
Here’s what we’ve learned about the “tie boy” from Nashville since Wednesday.
Munchel was being held at a local Nashville jail Sunday on a federal warrant, online records show. An FBI spokeswoman, Samantha Shero, confirmed the arrest.
A press release from the Washington federal prosecutor’s office says he is charged with one count of knowingly entering or staying in any building or restricted land without legal authority and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds. The federal press release also identifies him as Eric Gavelek Munchel.
Court records from Fulton County, Georgia show Munchel was tried for misdemeanor assault in 2015. According to Patch, a hyperlocal news site, the captain of the Sandy Springs Police Department said Munchel and another man were charged. Of assaulting a man and a woman in 2013 Records on the final disposition of the case were not immediately available.
He was also arrested in 2014 on charges of marijuana possession and speeding, for which he negotiated a deposition that diverted the sentence from him, publicly available Fulton County Superior Court records show. Those records also establish that there are no sentences against Munchel.
Investigation report
On Thursday, Douglas Korneski, the special agent in charge of the Memphis field office, said the agency was working to identify the man in the photos.
“The FBI is working aggressively to identify any of the people who were involved in yesterday’s events and is working very closely with the Justice Department in whatever way we can to prosecute those people,” Korneski said.
After extensive online efforts to identify the men in the photos wearing hand ties in the Senate, Munchel’s name began to circulate. One of the first to name him was John Scott-Railton, an investigator at the University of Toronto, who said he shared the information with the FBI.
