Garret Miller, Capitol riot defendant, arrested wearing ‘I Was There’ T-shirt: DOJ

Garret Miller, a Texan facing charges related to the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, was dressed in a T-shirt commemorating the event when he was arrested two weeks later, prosecutors said Monday.

Details about the shirt appear in a document filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., along with excerpts from online chats the government cited in support of keeping the Dallas resident detained.

Mr. Miller was caught on camera among the mobs that stormed the Capitol building when Congress met to certify former President Trump’s loss to President Biden, federal prosecutors said in the filing.

“At the time of his arrest, Miller was wearing a T-shirt with a photograph of President Trump that said, ’Take America Back’ and ’I Was There, Washington D.C., January 6, 2021,” the court filing said.

Mr. Miller did not give a statement to authorities when he was arrested on Jan. 20, acting U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips, the top federal law enforcement officer in Washington, wrote in the filing.

However, Mr. Miller had sent numerous messages on the social media service Facebook in which he admitted to being among the Trump supporters who entered the Capitol, Mr. Channing wrote for the government.

In one instance, for example, Mr. Miller allegedly sent a photograph showing himself inside the Capitol to another Facebook user, adding: “[J]ust wanted to incriminate myself a little lol.”

Additionally, the government cited numerous messages in which Mr. Miller allegedly discussed avenging the death of Ashli Babbitt, a rioter fatally shot inside the Capitol by a member of its police.

“He became consumed with her death and circulated photographs on Facebook of an African-American police officer that he believed was responsible for her death,” Mr. Channing wrote. “Miller threatened to kill that officer, stating that he wanted to ’hug his neck with a nice rope’ and that ’he will swing.’ He also said that the officer deserved to die and that ’it’s huntin season.’”

A grand jury returned a 12-count indictment last month charging Mr. Miller with multiple crimes stemming from the riots on Capitol Hill. More than 350 others have been charged federally so far.

In addition to facing charges related to trespassing on Capitol grounds, Mr. Miller faces counts of making interest threats to injure or kidnap because of his social media comments.

Following his arrest, a magistrate ordered Mr. Miller detained until trial. Defense lawyers recently asked for that order to be revoked, prompting Mr. Channing to file the latest motion in response.

A status conference is scheduled in the case for Thursday, at which point U.S. District Judge Carl John Nichols could potentially decide whether or not to revoke the detention order.

U.S. Capitol Police have not identified the officer who fired the shot that killed Babbitt, a 35-year-old U.S. Air Force veteran among several people who died during or shortly after the riots.