DC judge blocks release of 'Zip Tie Guy' Eric Munchel who stormed Capitol with plastic hand restraints
A man who was allegedly seen storming the U.S. Capitol with tactical hand restraints must remain in jail after his release order was blocked by a Washington, D.C. judge.
Eric Munchel, 30, was arrested last week after online researchers accused him of being the person photographed with so-called "Zip Ties" during the siege on Capitol Hill earlier this month.
Since the insurrection, Munchel has earned the label of "Zip Tie Guy."
"Law enforcement interviewed Munchel and identified that he was carrying a black and yellow 'Taser Pulse' taser that emits electrical shock," FBI Special Agent Carlos D. Fontanez explained in an affidavit that was filed following his arrest.
Last week, U.S. Magistrate Judge Chip Frensley in Tennessee ordered Munchel released from confinement.
“In our society, liberty is the norm, and detention before trial is an exception," Frensley explained at the time.
But in an order over the weekend, D.C. District Court Judge Beryl Howell stayed Frensley's ruling.
Howell said that Munchel would remain in custody pending a review of the detention order.
A federal judge has BLOCKED the release of so-called "zip tie guy" Eric Gavelek Munchel—the Capitol rioter who invaded the Capitol with his mother—until she can review a Tennessee judge's ruling on the matter.
Background, via @ColinKalmbacher and me https://t.co/qqtMJ3bT8g pic.twitter.com/dJFqEm4rDj
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) January 24, 2021
By my count, federal prosecutors have appealed four such pretrial release orders issued across the country in Capitol riot cases. List below. Due to #COVID19 quarantines, it may take several weeks for these defendants to get another shot at release from a DC judge. pic.twitter.com/mhZHBIrAiZ
— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) January 24, 2021