Mother and son charged with conspiracy following Capitol riots

A mother-son duo has been charged with conspiracy following the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, according to a Saturday legal filing.

Lisa Eisenhart and her son Eric Muchel are charged with “knowingly and willfully conspiring with persons known and unknown” to “obstruct or impede” law enforcement officers, according to the filing submitted to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee said on Twitter that Lisa Eisenhart was taken into custody in Nashville on Saturday in connection to the riots.

Capitol Riot Arrest-Lisa Eisenhart was taken into custody by FBI Agents in Nashville a short time ago on charges relating to the U.S. Capitol riots. Charges include conspiring with her son, Eric Munchel to violate federal statutes. pic.twitter.com/lgjqrYN8j2

— U.S Attorney-Middle District of Tennessee (@USAO_MDTN) January 16, 2021

Munchel, who is allegedly the masked man photographed carrying a handful of plastic handcuffs through the Senate chamber, was previously charged with unlawfully entering and violent entry on Capitol grounds. 

In the Saturday filing, authorities say that video footage from inside the Capitol shows Eisenhart and Munchel “in the vicinity of a mob of individuals that are physically attacking two Capitol Police officers guarding entry into the Senate chamber.”

The mother-son duo appear to join the chase, and are both seen holding flex cuffs in their hands while in pursuit. Both officers ultimately escaped to a lower level of the building, and Eisenhart then appears to shout at the officers while leaning over a banister.

Munchel and Eisenhart then appear to enter the Senate chamber through the same area that the officers were guarding.

The affidavit also points to an article from The Times newspaper published on Jan. 10 about the riots.

Eisenhart tells the newspaper that two had gone into the Capitol as “observers,” but she’s also told the outlet, “This country was founded on revolution . . . I’d rather die a 57-year-old woman than live under oppression. I’d rather die and would rather fight.”

The arrests come as federal law enforcement continue their efforts to track down and charge people in connection with riot that ultimately led to five deaths, including two Capitol Police officers.

Dozens have been arrested in connection to the Jan. 6 riots, and multiple people have since lost their jobs.

The Department of Justice has previously said its building sedition and conspiracy charges against some of the alleged rioters.