Jan. 6 rioter who threated Ocasio-Cortez gets 3 years

A Texas man who threatened U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter after he stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 was sentenced on Wednesday to more than three years in prison.

Garret Miller was wearing a shirt that read “”I Was There, Washington D.C., January 6, 2021” with a picture on President Donald Trump on it when law enforcement officers showed up at his Dallas-area home to arrest him two weeks after the riot. Miller has already served more than two years behind bars since his arrest and with credit for good behavior, he’s expected to serve another eight months, according to his lawyer, F. Clinton Broden.

Miller, a 36-year-old from Richardson, was among the many rioters who thoroughly documented their actions that day in a flurry of social media posts. After Miller posted a selfie showing himself inside the Capitol, a friend wrote, “bro you got in?! Nice!” Miller replied, “just wanted to incriminate myself a little lol,” according to court papers.

On Jan. 6, he helped lead the charge as rioters removed barriers and swarmed the east front of the Capitol, prosecutors said. He was twice briefly detained by police but released and told to leave as overwhelmed officers struggled to beat back the mob, prosecutors said.

Instead of leaving, Miller went inside the Capitol, where authorities say he was aggressive toward police and ignored their commands as they tried to force him to exit. He grabbed at one officer’s baton and put his hand on another as he resisted being pushed out of the Rotunda, according to prosecutors.

The night of Jan. 6, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted the word “Impeach,” and Miller responded to her on Twitter with: “Assassinate AOC.” The next day, he bragged to a friend in a message that the rioters “terrified congress,” prosecutors say. Shortly after the 2020 election, he also sent a threatening message to the Instagram account of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, writing “we are coming for you,” according to prosecutors. U.S. Capitol Police referred the threat to the FBI, who at that point were already investigating Miller for his Jan. 6 actions, prosecutors say. He was not charged with threatening Schumer. Days after the riot, Miller was sharing photos of the officer he believed fatally shot Ashli Babbitt at the Capitol, prosecutors say. In a Facebook message on January 10, Miller said he and others were going to get a hold of the officer and “hug his neck with a nice rope,” according to court papers. Miller’s attorney had asked the judge to impose time served, while prosecutors had sought four years in prison.