Man Charged for Role in Capitol Protest After Threatening to ‘Assassinate AOC’

A Texas man who allegedly participated in the Capitol protest earlier this month has also been charged with threatening to assassinate Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and a U.S. Capitol Police officer.

Garrett Miller, who was arrested Wednesday and has been charged with five crimes related to the Capitol protest, posted a death threat against the New York congresswoman online and also wrote of “civil war,” according to an FBI criminal complaint reported by CNN.

Officials allege Miller responded to a tweet from AOC by saying, “We acted with honor and we where not armed. We where gentle with the police. They murdered a child.” In a direct follow-up tweet he said, “Assassinate AOC.”

Federal law enforcement said that Miller, who allegedly claimed in an Instagram post after the Capitol protest that he “had a rope in [his] bag on that day,” also maintained that the Capitol Police officer who shot Ashli Babbitt “deserves to die.” He also allegedly wrote, “We going to get a hold of [the USCP officer] and hug his neck with a nice piece of rope.”

Miller wrote that he “just wanted to incriminate myself a little lol,” beneath a selfie he took from inside the Capitol that he posted to Facebook, according to officials. “Well, you did!” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in response.

“He did it in support of former President Trump, but regrets his actions,” Miller’s lawyer Clint Broden said, according to CNN. “He has the support of his family, and a lot of the comments, as viewed in context, are really sort of misguided political hyperbole. Given the political divide these days, there is a lot of hyperbole.”