In the Spotlight
By Jim Hoft
Published December 21, 2022
Eric Munchel is a January 6th political prisoner. Eric escorted his mother to Washington DC on January 6, 2021. He was one of over a million Trump supporters who came to Washington DC to protest their grievances on what they believed was a stolen presidential election. This action is guaranteed by the US Constitution.
According to The American Gulag website, a project of The Gateway Pundit, Eric Munchel entered the Capitol with a cell phone attached to his chest. He is pictured next to a mob of people who attacked two police officers and pursued them. Munchel admits to having a taser with him that day for self-protection. He accompanied his mother, Lisa Eisenhart. She wanted to attend President Trump’s rally and be part of the events of that day despite having an injured shoulder.
Eric and his mother face up to 8 years in federal prison for walking through an opened door and being invited into the Capitol by police as seen on his body cam footage. Not once did Eric ever attack, injure, or insult a police officer or damage any property.
Currently, Eric is limited on what he can share about the case based on his pretrial conditions and so we are cautious as we share an update.
On December 2nd during his status hearing, Eric and his mother were given a trial date for April 11th. The trial is expected to last through the 14th.
** Please donate to Eric Munchel this Christmas Season at his GiveSendGo account here.
Within the last few months, the judge granted Eric and his mother, Lisa, permission to speak to each other once a week on the phone as long as they do not discuss anything about the case.
He has been very fortunate to have a new attorney want to represent him other than his public defender. This was officially recognized by the judge during his December 2nd status hearing.
With the new private attorney, we are also having to start fundraising and working as much as possible to put as much away in savings as we are to pay the rest of the lawyer fees one month prior to the trial date. If the trial date stays at what it is, this means all money will be owed on March 11th. Without this money being paid, Eric could run the risk of having to represent himself.
Dear Americans,
My name is Eric Munchel, AKA “Zip Tie Guy”. I pray that none of you reading this ever have to experience what my family and I are enduring. My mother and I, like many other Americans, made a last minute decision to travel to Washington D.C. to see our beautiful Capitol and take part in a patriotic rally. The night before, on the 5th, we sang and danced and prayed and socialized with so many different walks of life from all over the country. It was an extremely patriotic event where the National Anthem was sung many times. All interactions with the police were polite and peaceful. I was even stopped this very same night by Metro Police as they thought the taser on my hip was a firearm. After realizing what it, they kindly let me go. I thanked them and told them to have a nice night. I was also wearing body armor and it was not mentioned by the police.
Fast forward to the next morning, my mother and I had slept in after staying up late from the festivities the night before. I wore a similar outfit as the night before and we began our way to our Nation’s Capitol. From this point on, we all can see from the media and videos found online as to what may have happened. Due to my pre-trial conditions, I am unable to discuss any details of what happened on the infamous day of January 6th.
Fast forward to 4 days later, I turned myself in on January 10th to the Nashville FBI where I was compliant and respectful. I was taken into custody and was held in solitary confinement for my own “protection”. I sat there for the next few weeks on a 23/1 hour schedule. For those who are unfamiliar with what this is, it meant that I spent 23 hrs inside my cell and was only granted 1 hour out.
After my bond hearing in Tennessee, the Magistrate deemed me not to be a flight risk or a danger to society and granted my bond. Unhappy with this verdict, the D.C. office put a hold on my bond and had me transferred post haste, meaning 72 hours. However, this was not what happened. I was transferred to Bowling Green, Kentucky where I sat for 3 weeks. Once D.C. realized what had happened the U.S. Marshal’s personally transferred me and my mother in shackles up to what is known as the Gulag. As we arrived at the airport, we were beginning to be paraded through the airport where reporters were awaiting our arrival. We were fortunate to have an officer decide to take us the back way.
Once we arrived at the D.C. correctional facility, I was briefly allowed to speak to my mother before being separated. I remember telling her, “I love you momma, keep your head up”. I was ushered to the unit deemed as the D.C. Gulag where my mother was sent to the SHU which stands for the Special Housing Unit where they send people who are mentally unstable. Hearing what my mother endured is something a son never wanted to hear.
As I entered my two weeks of quarantine in the Gulag, I was welcomed into a mold infested cell with nothing but cold air and cold water and only a thin mat to lay on. I stayed here for almost two weeks until one of the guys tested positive for covid and my two weeks started over again. It was because of this that I was granted permission to stay on the covid side and help care for the guys and maintain our cell block. It was also of the utmost importance to help the new guys that were pouring in every day get acclimated. I was also granted permission to go cell to cell when needed to help pray for the guys. Seeing and experiencing a grown man on the verge of a mental breakdown being shoved in a cold cell with nothing but the sound of other guys talking and dripping water was a truly life-altering experience. We all did what we could to help each other even if it was simply sharing one of the few bibles we had access to.
I was one of the lucky ones that was finally granted bond with every pre-trial condition under the sun placed on my mother and I. Once we got back to TN we gave each other a teary-eyed hug one last time knowing the road ahead was going to be hard and lonely. It was just recently that we were granted permission to call each other once a week.
With a trial date now set for April 11th, and knowing the money for the attorney must be paid one month prior to the trial date, we are doing everything we can to fundraise and work to save up the money needed to pay the new lawyers. I am only asking to give if you can. If not, we greatly appreciate all the prayers we can get for us as we get ready for trial. Just like the Lord did with the Sermon on the Mount, He will take what we have and multiply it.
God bless you and God bless our beautiful country, America!
Eric Munchel
** Please donate to Eric Munchel this Christmas Season at his GiveSendGo account here.
