DENVER — A Colorado man who vowed to "go down fighting" at the U.S. Capitol but also blamed Antifa and "hoodlums" for the Jan. 6 rioting has been arrested by authorities, according to a federal affidavit.
Patrick Montgomery, of Littleton, faces charges of knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
An FBI agent wrote in the affidavit that investigators were tipped off to Montgomery's activity at the Capitol on Jan. 6 by a tipster who claimed to see Montgomery in photos posted on Facebook. The tipster had worked with Montgomery in the past, according to the affidavit, and had asked Montgomery on Facebook if that was him in the picture.
Montgomery responded: "Got nothing to hide..."
In a follow-up email, the tipster told Montgomery he was being reported to police and the FBI.
Montgomery, according to the affidavit, responded: "I'm not a scared cat or running from anything ... Im so deeply covered by the best Federal Defense lawyers in the country in case you chicken s--- cry boys don't want it takes to defend our freedom from these corrupt politicians."
Montgomery later said, "I didn't storm the castle violently. My group was let in peacefully by the police we were talking to with respect. We came a[n]d left peacefully before the anarchist and Antifa showed up breaking s--- and being hoodlums."
The FBI agent on the case looked into Montgomery's recent Facebook posts, which included information about him going to D.C. for the Jan. 6 protests. In one Facebook post, according to the affidavit, Montgomery posted a picture from inside the Capitol, commenting, "We stormed the Senate...opened those Chamber door for Transparency!"
When someone told Montgomery to not get into trouble, he responded, "We're already in trouble! The USA is in trouble! I'll go down fighting before I'm scared anymore of getting in trouble."
U.S. District Court of Colorado Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak told Montgomery at his initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon that he faces a maximum penalty, if convicted of the two charges, of 1 ½ years in prison, up to $105,000 in fines, or both, as well as no more than two years of supervised released.
The judge ordered that Montgomery be released on a $5,000 unsecured bond – meaning he will not have to pay the bond up front or a portion of it and would only have to pay should he violate his conditions of release. The judge ordered that Montgomery check in with federal pretrial services by noon on Wednesday.
Judge Varholak continued a preliminary hearing and identity hearing for Montgomery to Feb. 2, at which time the court will determine whether he is the same Patrick Montgomery as the one in the affidavit and if there is evidence to support the charges against him.
Other Coloradans faces charges in the Capitol riots, including a Woodland Park man accused of assaulting an officer, and Klete Keller, a former Olympic swimmer from Colorado Springs.
