Accused ‘Zip-Tie’ Capitol Rioter Eric Munchel Wins Bid To Use UberEats During Home Arrest

According to court records, a Tennessee bartender who allegedly stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 with a zipper will soon see his menu options expand significantly while in custody. keep at home.

Eric Gavelek Munchel, 31, who worked at Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk in Nashville until the end of 2020, was given permission by US district judge Royce Lamberth to “download and use the UberEats app on smartphones his identity,” the April 13 order states.

Munchel, who is believed to have participated in the demolition of the Capitol building with his mother, will also be allowed to use his employer’s “internet-connected computer for business purposes”, Lamberth ruled. Last year, Lamberth gave Munchel the green light to call his mother on Mother’s Day, even though his bail conditions instruct him to “avoid all contact… with… accomplices except through counsel or with approval from an attorney.” authorization through the Pre-Trial Service”.

An earlier file, which presumably includes the reasoning behind Munchel’s request, remains sealed. However, a source with direct knowledge of the incident told The Daily Beast on Friday night that Munchel was not looking for more food options but the opportunity to become an UberEats driver.

“His job is outdoors and on bad days he can’t work, so he wants to be able to deliver food to people,” the source said.

Munchel was allowed out of the house for work, to see his doctor, to see his lawyer, and for religious services.

Before Munchel was arrested by the FBI on January 10, 2021, he was dubbed “Zip Tie Guy” by online news hunters because of a notorious photo showing him in a Senate gallery, dressed tactic and carry a handful of plastic handcuffs.

In the original complaint accusing Munchel of entering a building or restricted property and entering a building or grounds of violence or disorderly conduct, FBI Special Agent Carlos Fontanez noted that Munchel was “dressed in combat clothing”, wearing “a patch in the center of the chest showing the comic book character ‘The Punisher’, as well as a sticker of Tennessee’s ‘thin blue line’… The person who appears to be Munchel is also depicted in the photos. This man wears a plastic harness and an item in a holster on his right hip.In my experience, bent cuffs are used by law enforcement to restrain and/or detain subjects. “.

On the day the Capitol was besieged, Munchel was questioned by police at the Grand Hyatt hotel, according to the complaint. Munchel, wearing camouflage pants and a black leather holster, was carrying a tool. He told officers he “possessed the duty to defend himself as he participated in the pro-Trump rally.”

Munchel and his mother, nurse Lisa Marie Eisenhart, both pleaded not guilty and were freed in March 2021. Munchel was instructed by Lamberth to, among other things, submit his passports and not drink excessively. level. However, in September of that year, Munchel was slapped for a prior offense after his sofa friend kicked him out. Like Munchel’s UberEats request, the detailed incident report has been sealed. However, prosecutors later filed a petition addressing Munchel’s “acts that contributed to the deportation” and asked the judge to ban alcohol use on him.

Munchel was then placed under his brother’s supervision while on bail.

Four months earlier, Munchel had asked – and was granted – permission to call his mother on Mother’s Day.

“Mr. Munchel has not contacted his mother since January 10, 2021,” the request stated. “He wants to call his mother on Mother’s Day… In the spirit of his release order. Court, Mr Munchel agreed not to discuss any aspect of the case during a Mother’s Day call with his mother.”

A detention note filed by prosecutors shortly after Munchel’s arrest said he and his mother “went to Washington, DC to attend a ‘Stop Theft’ protest… where he intended to protest. against the results of the 2020 Presidential election.” The dossier cites interviews Munchel gave reporters on the day of the attempted uprising in which he said he was prepared to “zone”. up” and “fight if necessary.”

Munchel kept the weapon in a bag outside the Capitol, according to the federalists, and was “delighted to obtain several sets of plastic handcuffs as he made his way through the Capitol and into the Senate chambers, where just moments ago he was. that the Vice President of the United States certified the results of the 2020 Presidential election.”

In a video reviewed by investigators and described in the memo, Munchel told his mother, “They’re going to use this against us as best they can.” She replied, “I don’t care, that’s fine, I don’t care.”

Munchel said: “We’re not going to play nice anymore.

During a search of Munchel’s home on January 10, 2021, FBI agents found “approximately 15 firearms, including an assault rifle, a sniper rifle with a tripod, and other rifles.” , pistols and pistols, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition,” the detention record revealed. “Agents also placed a blank-style magazine elsewhere in the mansion.”

A phone number named Munchel went down Friday night. His attorney, Sandra Gayle Roland, did not respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment.