The FBI arrested August Garcia in Cheyenne on Monday for his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Garcia faces charges ranging from felony assault of an officer to misdemeanor counts of remaining in a restricted area.
In July, a pastor who’d baptized Garcia identified him to an investigator from provided images, according to a law-enforcement affidavit. Later that day, having been notified by the pastor that investigators were looking for him, Garcia called local FBI officials.
“GARCIA acknowledged that he was at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, but claimed that he was not part of any violence on January 6 and that he did not see anything illegal that day,” the affidavit states.
An image used by the FBI in charging August Garcia, shown here circled in yellow. (Screenshot from FBI affidavit)
On camera
Open-source video captured Garcia walking along Constitution Avenue towards the Capitol that day, according to the FBI. Footage later captured him outside the building holding a bag that appeared to contain zip ties, before standing behind a man bashing in a door and shattering its window.
“During this time, Garcia allegedly stood behind the rioter and, after the door was opened, patted him on the back,” the FBI stated in a press release. “Garcia then held the door open as he and others began to enter the Capitol building.”
Garcia was one of the first to breach the Capitol, but it wouldn’t be the only time he did so that day, according to investigators.
Upon entering, the FBI alleged he grabbed a U.S. Capitol Police officer, wrapped his arms around the man, pushed him, then pulled him against a wall before the officer broke free.
While U.S. Capitol Police tried to hold a line, rioters rushed forward.
“Open-source video from this period shows the crowd chanting ‘USA, USA’ as Garcia emphatically pointed at the police,” the FBI said.
Nineteen minutes after entering, Garcia left the Capitol, and video footage shows he then breached another entrance 5 minutes later, the FBI stated.
Garcia walked the halls, kicked a door, talked to another rioter and walked into the “Crypt,” which is a large, circular chamber under the rotunda that operates as a museum and statue repository. Rioters chanted “WHOSE HOUSE? OUR HOUSE,” the FBI press release stated.
“Minutes later, [Garcia] exited the Capitol building through a broken window near the Senate Wing Door at approximately 3:15 p.m., after spending roughly 29 minutes inside the building across two separate entries,” the FBI stated.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming assisted in the case, according to the FBI, but Garcia is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Garcia is charged with felony counts of “assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder.”
He’s also charged with misdemeanor crimes for “entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, and disorderly conduct, act of physical violence, and parading demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.”
Since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,500 people have been charged with crimes related to the Capitol breach, “including more than 560 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony,” the FBI stated.
A Star Valley man was convicted in July of assaulting an officer with a flagpole during the Jan. 6 insurrection, among other crimes.
Investigations remain ongoing. Tips can be called in to 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or at tips.fbi.gov.
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