Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

January 6 Rioters Claim They Were “Punished,” Demand Restitution

newrepublic.com · 19h · first reportShare

A group of defendants prosecuted for their actions in the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection are suing the federal government, claiming that their rights were violated. One defendant, Lisa Eisenhart, claims that she was “targeted, arrested, prosecuted, and punished because of her constitutionally protected expressive and associational activity as a member of the protesters who gathered at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.” That claim belies the fact that the January 6 rioters did more than just exercise their First Amendment rights. Police officers were assaulted , windows were broken, congressional property was stolen, and offices in the Capitol were extensively vandalized . Eisenhart, a former nurse from Georgia who wore a tactical vest that day, got further inside the Capitol than most of her fellow rioters, and allegedly encouraged rioters to fight with police. She was joined by her son, Eric Munchel, a Nashville, Tennessee, bartender who became known as “zip-tie guy” because