Laramie man arrested by FBI for actions during Jan. 6 Capitol breach
By Ivy Secrest
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Via Wyoming News Exchange
CHEYENNE — A Laramie man has been arrested on charges related to his conduct during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol, including allegedly assaulting law enforcement.
August Garcia, 30, was arrested Monday in Cheyenne by the FBI, after which he made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming. He was charged with felony assaulting, resisting or impeding officers and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia.
According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice, in addition to these felony charges, he has been charged with misdemeanor entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; engaging in
physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct, act of physical violence, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
According to the release, Garcia joined the mob that broke into the Capitol and overwhelmed police on Jan. 6, 2021. The mob disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress, which was convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.
The FBI received a tip from a known source who provided images of Garcia and could allegedly identify him through open-source research, according to the complaint and arrest warrant.
The FBI reviewed Garcia’s social media accounts and then contacted Garcia’s pastor, who then informed Garcia the FBI was looking for him. Garcia then called the Cheyenne FBI Resident Agency and confirmed his presence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, but claimed to not have been a part of any violence.
Garcia’s actions on Jan. 6
On the day of the riots, Garcia attended the “Stop the Steal” rally near the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., according to court documents. After the rally, he marched toward the U.S. Capitol, joining a large crowd, according to court documents.
Open-source video captured him approaching the Capitol from the west along Constitution Avenue. Additional video footage showed Garcia in the Capitol’s West Plaza, standing near the base of the northwest stairs holding a bag, which allegedly contained zip ties. Garcia joined rioters gathered in the Upper West Terrace, as law enforcement was forced to retreat from the West Plaza. According to video footage, he stood and watched another rioter repeatedly strike a fire exit door, known as the Parliamentarian Door, until it was shattered.
The other rioter, who was not identified in the news release, reached through the broken glass to unlock the door. Then, Garcia allegedly patted him on the back and held the door open as he and others began to enter the Capitol, according to the release.
Garcia was one of the first rioters to breach the Capitol at approximately 2:42 p.m. through the Parliamentarian Door, according to CCTV footage. After entering the Capitol, Garcia allegedly charged at a U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officer, wrapping his arms around the officer and pushing him back several feet down the hallway, according to the news release.
After pushing the officer, he allegedly pulled the officer against a wall before the officer managed to break free, then Garcia extended his arms and pushed the officer’s chest.
The officer rejoined other USCP officers, forming a defensive line against the crowd. However, the crowd, including Garcia, surged forward, according to court documents.
The crowd was captured on video chanting “USA, USA.” Among them was Garcia, pointing at police. Garcia briefly exited the Capitol through the Parliamentarian Door at approximately 3:01 p.m., reentering the building five minutes later through the Senate Wing Door, according to court documents.
At this point in the riot, the mob had broken windows, leaving shattered glass and scattered furniture across the foyer, which can be seen on CCTV footage. Garcia was then seen headed south toward an area known as the Crypt.
He passed several rooms, kicking in the door of one. He then entered a room whose windows faced the Upper West Terrace. Among rioters who were caught on video drinking, Garcia can be seen conversing with another rioter.
Around 3:09 p.m., three minutes after his second breach into the Capitol, Garcia entered the Crypt, walking through rioters chanting “WHOSE HOUSE? OUR HOUSE.” According to the news release, he exited the Capitol six minutes later through a broken window near the Senate Wing Door. He spent roughly 29 minutes inside the building across two separate entries.
The case against Garcia
Garcia’s case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, according to the Department of Justice.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming provided assistance, which helped lead to Garcia’s arrest.
The FBI’s Denver Field Office, Cheyenne Resident Agency and the Washington Field Office investigated Garcia, who was identified as BOLO (Be on the Lookout) #495. U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department also assisted in the investigation.
“In the 44 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,504 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol,” the news release reads, “including more than 560 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.”
This story was published September 19, 2024.