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No release for man that allegedly brought zip ties to DC riot

Eric Munchel
Posted at 5:32 AM, Jan 25, 2021
and last updated 2021-01-25 05:34:08-05

FORT MYERS, Fla. — A former Southwest Florida resident and man involved in the capitol riot will not be able to bail out of jail before his trial.

A federal judge has blocked Eric Munchel's release.

Munchel used to live in southwest Florida but now lives in Tennessee.

Munchel is charged with unlawful entry and disorderly conduct.

Eric Gavelek Munchel.jpg
Eric Gavelek Munchel
Photo from MNPD

Agents were able to link Munchel to a photographed masked invader in the Senate gallery. He was photographed with a weapon on his right side holding zip-tie restraints like those used to take prisoners.

On his head, a cap from Black Rifle Coffee. On his chest, a state of Tennessee patch with a thin blue line used to show support for police.

Much of the evidence cited by the FBI was found first by internet sleuths, who had already zeroed in on Munchel.

Agents say he went to Washington DC with a Florida woman named Lisa Eisenhart. Eisenhart has told a newspaper in London she is Munchel's mom.

Live-streamed video shows the pair enjoying drinks after the riot in a Washington hotel lobby, Munchel still wearing camouflage and an empty holster on his hip.