by AP News.
DALLAS (AP) — A retired Air Force officer and a man from Tennessee were charged Sunday for being part of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol, federal prosecutors said.
Retired Lieutenant Colonel Larry Rendall Brock Jr. of Grapevine was arrested in Texas and charged in federal court in the District of Columbia with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, prosecutors said.
During the deadly riot Wednesday, Brock was photographed on the Senate floor wearing a helmet and heavy vest and carrying zip-tie handcuff.
According to an affidavit, his ex-wife was one of the people who told the FBI they recognized Brock from photos taken at the Capitol.
She told authorities: “I just know that when I saw this was happening I was afraid he would be there. I think you already know he was there. It is such a good picture of him and I recognize his patch.”
Brock confirmed to The New Yorker that he was the man in the photographs and claimed he found the zip-tie handcuffs on the floor. “I wish I had not picked those up,” he said.
The Air Force did not immediately respond to inquiries about Brock Sunday.
Also Sunday, Eric Gavelek Munchel was was arrested in Tennessee in connection with the riot. He’s also charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Prosecutors say that photos from the riot show a person who appears to be Munchel carrying plastic restraints, an item in a holster on his right hip, and a cell phone mounted on his chest with the camera facing outward, ostensibly to record events that day.
It was not immediately known if Brock or Munchel had attorneys to speak on their behalf.
The rioters on Wednesday took over the House and Senate chambers, smashed windows and waved Trump, American and Confederate flags. Prosecutors have filed dozens of cases so far for a variety of offenses ranging from assaulting police officers to entering restricted areas of the U.S. Capitol, stealing federal property and threatening lawmakers.