Tennessee Man Charged in Connection with Events at U.S. Capitol

 

Federal officials on Sunday charged a 30-year-old Tennessee man with allegedly participating in riots at the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday.

This, according to a press release that officials with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia published on their website.

“Eric Gavelek Munchel, of Tennessee, was 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. Munchel was arrested today in Tennessee,” the press release said.

“It is alleged that Munchel was inside of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Photos depicting his presence 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.”

The website for the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office reported that authorities booked Munchel into their jail at 2:52 p.m. Sunday.

Munchel, tends bar at a local establishment, according to Saturday’s International Business Times.

The website posted a screenshot of Munchel’s Facebook page, which is apparently no longer available for members of the public to view. In it, Munchel said he worked at Doc Ford’s Rum Bar and Grille. According to a Google search, the only restaurant that has that name is in Fort Myers Beach, Florida.

A woman who works at Doc Ford’s, who did not identify herself, spoke about Munchel to The Tennessee Star Saturday.

“If you are asking in regard to Eric Munchel he no longer works here,” the woman said.

“He hasn’t worked here for the last two years.”

The woman said Munchel currently works at a bar in Nashville, which she identified by name. The Star contacted that bar Saturday night, but no one there answered the phone.

Members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterterrorism Section of the DOJ’s National Security Division are prosecuting the case. Members of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the FBI’s Memphis Field Office and the United States Capitol Police are investigating, the press release said.

As The Star reported Saturday, Tennessee residents who traveled to Washington, D.C. Wednesday said they behaved peacefully and came only to plead for a free and fair election.

Also as reported, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee hinted Friday that he and his colleagues are investigating one or more people in that area of the state for last week’s attack on the U.S. Capitol.

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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].