(Photo : Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 06: Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest inside the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification.
A Tennessee man who is also known as the 'zip tie guy', for carrying flexible plastic handcuffs during the United States Capitol siege earlier this month which is confirmed by the authorities, was about to be released but a District of Columbia federal judge has granted a stay in the motion to release from custody.
Chief Judge for the United States District of Columbia, Beryl A. Howell has ordered the 'zip tie guy' Eric Munchel, to be transported by the United States Marshals Service to the District of Columbia for further proceedings.
Howell ruled that the lower court's order be upheld pending a review.
A judge for the United States District Court of Middle Tennessee, Judge Chip Frensley, ruled on Friday after a five-hour detention hearing that Munchel should be released from custody.
Tactic to Delay Release
Ben Schrader, a U.S. Attorney appealed the ruling and the stay on order by Howell was a tactic to delay Munchel's release on Monday
According to News4, Frensley mentioned that he did not believe Munchel to be a flight risk and that he does not believe he posed an obvious and clear danger to the American community.
Eric Munchel, who was known for being one of the Capitol rioters who is considered as a 'zip tie guy,' was arrested on January 10 for his role in the riots.
Munchel was arrested and held in Davidson County Detention Centers, as he faced charges of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and violent entry and disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds.
Munchel's mother, Lisa Eisenhart, was also arrested on January 16 in the city of Nashville with similar charges.
Read also:National Guard Denies Guardsmen Guilty Turning Backs on Presidential Motorcade in Washington DC
The 30-year-old man from Tennessee is one of five individuals who can be tied with the state in connection with the Capitol riots.
In order to ensure the safety of the community, federal prosecutors are arguing regarding the offenses of Munchel if those were serious enough in detaining him and pending trial.
Based on court records, the Federal Bureau of Investigations searches the home of Munchel and they have found the gear that the 'zip tie guy' wore on January 6 when they stormed the Capitol along with other rioters, multiple weapons, five pairs of plastic handcuffs, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, including a drum-style magazine, CBS reported.
With the charges mentioned, Munchel possibly faces up to 20 years of imprisonment if convicted.
The 'zip tie guy' has been under the custody of the federal FBI since his arrest on January 10, the date when he turned himself over to authorities.
Moreover, in a memorandum in support of the detention, prosecutors stated that Munchel traveled to Washington with his mother, Lisa Eisenhart, who has also been charged in the Capitol riot, Yahoo! News reported.
The two participated in the 'Stop the Steal' rally of Donald Trump wherein the former president repeated his claims of election fraud and exhorted the crowd to march to the Capitol and 'fight like hell' but no basis was presented.
Based on the court documents, Munchel allegedly went into the chamber of the Senate just minutes after the chamber had been evacuated.
