This photo provided by the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office shows Garret Miller. Miller has been arrested for allegedly taking part in the U.S. Capitol storm this month and posting violent threats, including a call to assassinate Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
Dallas County Sheriff’s Office through AP
A Texas man accused of invading the Capitol and threatening Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Monday that he was effectively following President Donald Trump’s orders when he joined a crowd that stormed Congress Jan. 6.
Garret Miller also apologized to Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y., for writing “Assassinate AOC” in a Twitter post. He said he would be willing to testify in Congress or in a trial over the riot.
Miller, 34, had also threatened on a social media account a Capitol police officer who fatally shot a rioter, saying he planned to “hug his neck with a nice rope,” authorities said. .
The Richardson resident’s apology came when a federal judge in Dallas ordered him to be released without bail pending trial, after finding that it was both a danger to the community and a risk of theft, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. United States for the North Texas District.
MIller is one of dozens of people accused of participating in the riot, which began shortly after Trump held a rally in front of the White House, where he urged supporters to pressure Congress to reject the election of Joe Biden as president.
In a statement released by defense attorney Clinton Broden, Miller said he had been motivated by Trump’s false claims about being tricked into re-election for ballot fraud and said, “I’m ashamed of my comments. “.
“I was in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021, because I believed I was following the instructions of former President Trump and he was my president and commander-in-chief. His statements also led me to believe that he was robbed of his elections. “Miller said.
“However, I fully recognize that Joe Biden is now the president of the United States and that the election is over. Donald Trump is no longer president and would have no reason to continue in his leadership.”
“While I never intended to hurt Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez or hurt any member of the Capitol police force, I recognize that my posts on social media were completely inappropriate. They were made at one point in what Donald Trump made believe that an American election was being stolen, “he said.
Miller said, “I want to apologize publicly to Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and the Capitol police officers. I have always supported law enforcement and am ashamed of my comments.”
He also said in the statement that he was not armed when he entered the Capitol and stayed at his roundabout.
He said he left Washington and returned to Texas “immediately after President Trump asked us to go home.”
Miller, who was arrested last Wednesday, said “until very recently” he had not been interested in or related to politics.
“Still, what Donald Trump was saying about the election really came to me and I felt I had to support him. However, I recognize that I am solely responsible for my actions and that there are no excuses for that I did, ”he said. added.
“I come from a good, supportive family. My parents and siblings do not deserve the pain I have caused them. I accept full responsibility for my actions and am willing to testify at any trial or proceedings in Congress,” he said. Miller.
Miller is charged with U.S. District Court in Washington, DC, for: knowingly entering or remaining in restricted buildings or land without legal authority; violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; hinder or impede any official procedure; certain acts during civil disorder and threats in interstate trade.
Ocasio-Cortez had responded to Miller’s accusation by threatening her by writing on Twitter: “On the one hand, you have to laugh, and on the other, you know the reason they were so cheeky is because they thought they would succeed.” .
Ocasio-Cortez has said he feared for his life during the riot and that members of Congress were “almost murdered.”
“I didn’t know if I would get to the end of this day alive, and not just in a general sense, but also in a very, very specific sense,” she said in an Instagram Live video on Jan. 12. without giving further details.
Trump has been accused by the House of Representatives of inciting rioting. He is due to stand trial next month in the Senate, where he is banned from returning to the presidency.