A Texas man who threatened US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter after storming the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 was sentenced Wednesday to more than three years in prison.
Garret Miller was wearing a T-shirt that read “I was there Washington DC January 6, 2021” with a photo of President Donald Trump when police showed up at his Dallas-area home to arrest him two weeks after the riot. . Miller has already spent more than two years behind bars since his arrest and, with good behavior, should serve another eight months, according to his attorney, F. Clinton Broden.
Miller, a 36-year-old Richardson, was among many rioters who documented their actions that day in a flurry of social media posts.
After Miller posted a selfie showing the inside of the Capitol, a friend wrote: “Bro, are you there?! Fantastic!” Miller responded, “I just wanted to incriminate myself a little bit lol,” according to court documents.
via the Associated Press
On Jan. 6, he helped lead the charge as rioters removed barriers and stormed the east front of the Capitol, prosecutors said. He was briefly arrested twice by police but was released and told to leave as overwhelmed officers struggled to control the crowds, prosecutors said.
Instead of leaving, Miller entered the Capitol, where authorities say he was aggressive with police and ignored their commands as they tried to force him out. He grabbed one officer’s baton and put his hand on another while resisting being pushed out of the Rotunda, according to prosecutors.
On the night of Jan. 6, Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat who represents parts of New York City, tweeted the word “Impeach.” Miller responded on Twitter with: “Murder AOC.” The next day, he bragged to a friend in a text message that the rioters “terrorized the congress,” prosecutors say.
Shortly after the 2020 election, she also sent a threatening message to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s Instagram account, writing “we’re coming for you,” according to prosecutors. U.S. Capitol Police escalated the threat to the FBI, which at the time was already investigating Miller for his actions on Jan. 6, prosecutors said. He was not accused of threatening Schumer.
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In the days following the riot, Miller shared photos of the officer he believed shot Ashli Babbitt at the Capitol, prosecutors say. In a Facebook message on Jan. 10, Miller said he and others grabbed the officer and “wrapped him around the neck with a nice rope,” according to court documents.
Miller’s lawyer asked the judge to impose a deadline for execution, while prosecutors asked for four years in prison.
Miller’s attorney said in court documents that despite his client’s tweet about Ocasio-Cortez and the messages about the officer, “there is no indication that he made any effort to harm anyone.”
“We must always remember that while Garret bears full responsibility for his individual actions that day, his actions and those of many others were the product of the rhetoric of a cult leader who has yet to be brought to justice,” Broden said. . in an email on Wednesday. “Garret Miller was not the name on the flag carried by those who invaded our Capitol on this dark day in our nation’s history. “
In a letter to the judge, Miller called his social media posts “disgusting and a complete disgrace” and apologized to Ocasio-Cortez, Schumer, the officer who shot Babbitt and the other officers Miller interacted with on January 6.
“I feel deep remorse for not helping the police that day and contributing to the destruction and pain. It was pointless, barbaric and disrespectful. I was proud, arrogant and acted out of anger. I needed to be humiliated,” he wrote.
Miller pleaded guilty in December to charges including interfering with law enforcement during a civil disturbance, assaulting, resisting or obstructing officers and making threats against Ocasio-Cortez.
Miller was charged separately this month in federal court in Texas with one count of possession of an unregistered firearm, according to court documents. When he was arrested on Jan. 6, authorities found an AR-style rifle in his home that had been primed to fire like a machine gun.
He is among nearly 1,000 people who have been charged with federal crimes related to the Jan. 6 riot and more than 500 people who have pleaded guilty. About 400 rioters were convicted, more than half of whom received prison sentences ranging from seven days to 10 years.
Reported from Boston. Associated Press reporter Lindsay Whitehurst contributed from Washington.
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