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A former Army captain who ran for state office in Florida last year has been arrested in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.
Gabriel Augustin Garcia uploaded videos to Facebook while inside the building during the riot, according to an FBI statement of facts.
“We just went ahead and stormed the Capitol. It’s about to get ugly,” Garcia says in a video, according to the document.
At other points, he allegedly encouraged people to “storm this s—,” called Capitol police “traitors,” and while in the Rotunda said, “Nancy come out and play,” in an apparent reference to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to the FBI statement.
At another paint, Garcia allegedly says, “Free Enrique,” which the FBI agent wrote is thought to be a reference to criminally charged Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, of Miami. But it is not clear if Garcia is a member of the far-right group.
Garcia is charged with one count each of certain acts during civil disorder, aiding and abetting; knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, according to court records.
An attorney listed for Garcia in online court records did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday evening.
The former captain in the U.S. Army ran as a Republican for Florida state representative last year in the Miami-Dade area, NBC Miami reported. He lost in the primary by more than 17 percentage points, according to state election records.
The assault on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob occurred the same day Congress formally counted the electoral votes affirming President Joe Biden’s win. Biden was sworn in Wednesday.
Now-former President Donald Trump has been accused of inciting the riot by baselessly claiming that the election was stolen.
Authorities have said the riot led to the deaths of five people, including a Capitol police officer.
Trump last week was impeached for a second time by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives. The article of impeachment charges him with “incitement of insurrection,” and 10 Republicans voted against Trump.
It’s the only time in U.S. history that a president has been impeached twice. It will be up to the Senate to decide whether to convict the president.
There have been arrests all over the country since the riot. There is a sea of photos and video, and a law enforcement official said Sunday the number topped 150,000.
More than 100 people have been federally charged, according to the Department of Justice. A department official said this week that there are more than 300 open FBI investigations.
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