‘Zip tie guy’ Capitol rioter gets evicted after couch-surfing -- and violates conditions of release

Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to bar Capitol rioter Eric Gavelek Munchel — known as "the zip-tie guy" — from consuming any alcohol, after he was evicted from his apartment and violated the conditions of his pretrial release.

"Prosecutors asked U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth to place 30-year-old Eric Gavelek Munchel under the supervision of his older brother after he was tossed out of a Nashville apartment where he had been sleeping on a sofa for several months," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Friday. "In a motion Thursday filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., prosecutors also asked that Munchel, a bartender, be prohibited from consuming alcohol, noting that his 'behavior' contributed to his eviction."

Online sleuths dubbed Munchel the "zip-tie guy" after iconic photos from the insurrection showed him wearing military gear in the Senate chamber, hopping over seats while carrying a handful of the plastic tactical handcuffs. Munchel later claimed he picked up the handcuffs after Capitol police left them behind, but prosecutors said he could have used them to take lawmakers hostage.

Munchel, who stormed the Capitol alongside his mother, Lisa Marie Eisenhart, was released from jail after an appeals court ruled in March that the pair did not pose a threat. At the time, Munchel was ordered "not to use alcohol excessively" while on home confinement with GPS monitoring.

"He was released to home confinement into the custody of a friend identified in court records as 'Mrs. Miller,' who allowed him to stay in her two-bedroom apartment with four other adults," the Journal-Constitution reported Friday. "Last month, Munchel filed a motion asking to be transferred to the custody of his brother, saying he did not 'want to impose on (Miller's) extraordinary generosity any longer.'"

However, federal prosecutors cited Munchel's "contributive behavior leading up to the eviction," which reportedly is detailed in a pretrial services report that has not been made public.

"On September 6, 2021, Pretrial Services filed a Pretrial Violation Report with respect to Eric Munchel based on Munchel's eviction by his third-party custodian," prosecutors wrote in their motion. "Pretrial Services requested an immediate hearing to address the defendant's behavior and to appoint a new third-party custody."

"The government has consulted with Pretrial Services who has advised the government that Alex Munchel has now been screened and that Pretrial Services does not object to his appointment as a third-party custodian," prosecutors wrote. "Should the Defendant again fail to comply with conditions of release while under the supervision of his new third party custodian, the United States will move to revoke his pretrial release."