WASHINGTON — A Tennessee man who leapt over seats in the Senate Gallery while holding law enforcement-style flex cuffs – becoming one of the earliest and most recognizable images of the Capitol riot – was convicted along with his mother Tuesday of conspiring to obstruct the joint session of Congress.
Eric Gavelek Munchel, who became known colloquially as “zip tie guy,” and his mother, Lisa Eisenhart, of Georgia, were convicted Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth in a stipulated bench trial. In a stipulated bench trial, defendants agree to facts sufficient for a judge to find them guilty on one or more counts without waiving the appellate rights they would normally give up as part of a plea agreement.
Munchel and Eisenhart were both convicted of felony counts of obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy. Munchel was additionally convicted of entering and remaining in a restricted building and disorderly and disruptive conduct with a dangerous weapon – a Taser – and unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon on Capitol grounds. Eisenhart was also convicted of two misdemeanor counts of entering and remaining and disorderly and disruptive conduct. Both were convicted of entering and remaining in the gallery of Congress.
Munchel and his mother’s presence at the Capitol was well-documented throughout the day. Munchel himself was stopped by police at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C., while wearing the camouflage and Punisher logo he’d worn at the Capitol and told officers he had a “Taser Pulse” in a holster and had participated in the pro-Trump rally. Munchel was also identified in part thanks to a photograph he’d posted on social media of himself holding a shotgun while former President Donald Trump gave a speech on a television in the background
According to a statement of facts agreed to by the defendants, Munchel and his mother decided to enter the building when they observed cops retreating from rioters. Before doing so, prosecutors alleged in a court filing in January 2021, the pair stashed weapons in a backpack outside of the Capitol.
"We're going straight to federal prison if we go in there with weapons," Eisenhart told her son.
“Drop your s*** and let’s go,” Munchel said a short time later, according to the statement of facts.
Eisenhart then told an unidentified person, “We are going in,” and, “The gas isn’t bad.”
Eisenhart and Munchel entered the building through the Upper West Terrace Doors. Once inside, Munchel found the plastic handcuffs that would feature in the image later captured of him inside the Senate Gallery.
“Zip ties! I need to get me some of them motherf***ers,” Munchel said, according to the statement of facts.
The pair remained inside the building for approximately 50 minutes – going so far as to enter the Senate Gallery. Their time inside was recorded by a cellphone attached to Munchel’s chest. In an interview with the London Times after Jan. 6, Eisenhart told a reporter she would “rather die” than not fight.
“[T]his country was founded on revolution. If they’re going to take every legitimate means from us, and we can’t even express ourselves on the Internet, we won’t even be able to speak freely, what is America for?” she said, according to the statement of facts. “I’d rather die as a 57-year-old woman than live under oppression. I’d rather die and would rather fight.”
A sentencing hearing was scheduled for the pair for Sept. 8 in D.C. District Court. Lamberth allowed both to remain on pre-sentencing release under their existing conditions.
We're tracking all of the arrests, charges and investigations into the January 6 assault on the Capitol. Sign up for our Capitol Breach Newsletter here so that you never miss an update.