Capitol riot: Nashville's 'zip-tie guy' guilty on all charges
A federal court Tuesday handed down guilty verdicts for the Nashville man best known as “zip-tie guy” and his mother for the pair’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Eric Munchel, who infamously brandished zip ties as he walked the inside of the Capitol during the riot, and his mother Lisa Eisenhart, of Woodstock, Georgia, were found guilty on all charges in a D.C. District Court Tuesday.
The pair are scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 8.
Originally charged mainly with trespassing charges, the charges against Munchel and Eisenhart expanded in October to include obstruction, conspiracy, disorderly conduct and unauthorized entry. Munchel was found guilty of additional charges for carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon on Capitol grounds because he was armed with a Taser, court records say.
Both Munchel and Eisenhart waived their right to a jury trial and instead agreed to a stipulated bench trial, meaning a shortened trial before a judge based on an agreed set of facts.
"We negotiated a stipulated set of facts with the government. Those facts included his actions from Jan. 6, and those facts were submitted to the court this morning," said Munchel's attorney Joseph Allen of Branson, Missouri. "He ... agreed to do that in the interest of accepting responsibility for his actions on Jan. 6."
On Jan. 4, 2021, Munchel and Eisenhart traveled from Nashville, where Munchel worked as a bartender, to D.C. to participate in election protest rallies scheduled for Jan. 5-6. according to court records.
Munchel and Eisenhart arrived at the Capitol on Jan. 6 donning tactical vests, and Munchel had a Taser holstered at his hip and his cell phone mounted on his chest. Munchel’s cell phone recorded a 50-minute video that captured most of the pair’s approach and entry to the Capitol building, prosecutors said.
Once inside, Munchel spotted and picked up the zip-ties that he became known for, and he was photographed carrying them as he stepped over seats in the Senate chamber.
Eisenhart later told a reporter for the London Times that “this country was founded on revolution” and said she’d “rather die as a 57-year-old woman than live under oppression.”
Eisenhart’s attorney said the judge allowed the mother and son to remain on release after Tuesday’s trial and before sentencing. Her attorney declined to comment for this story.
In all, more than two dozen people with Tennessee connections have been arrested in connection with the Capitol Hill riot. Many of them have been sentenced to jail time or fines.
More: From fines to jail time: Tennesseans sentenced in two years since Jan. 6 insurrection
Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him at emealins@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanMealins.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Jan. 6 Capitol riot: Nashville's 'zip-tie guy' guilty on all charges
