Capitol defendant to appear in court after allegedly shooting mountain lion during release

A suspect in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol is set to appear in court on Monday after he allegedly shot a mountain lion during his pretrial release, according to court records.

A D.C. judge on Friday revoked pretiral release for Patrick Montgomery, who was arrested in Colorado in January in connection with the riot.

The court found there was “probable cause” to believe that Montgomery had committed a crime and was “unlikely to abide by any condition or combination of conditions of release.”

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday filed a motion seeking to revoke Montgomery’s pretrial release after they were made aware that he shot a mountain lion with a .357 Magnum handgun on March 31 at a wildlife park in Denver.

A Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) officer told the FBI that Montgomery notified him that he killed the mountain lion, as required by law. The officer saw a bullet through the animal’s skull when Montgomery presented it.

A mandatory background check revealed that Montgomery pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery in 1996 in New Mexico, according to a CPW report, which would prohibit him from having a firearm.

Prior to killing the mountain lion, Montgomery contacted CPW to have a bobcat sealed on Jan. 25 because his dogs killed the animal after an 11-mile pursuit. However, CPW later learned that his dogs killed the bobcat after he knocked it out of a tree with a slingshot.

He was cited and charged with two offenses for illegally taking the bobcat. He has a hearing in that case on May 19.

In a footnote on the Wednesday motion, prosecutors noted that Montgomery is a professional hunting guide.

Both parties agreed to restrict him to 24-hour-a-day home incarceration and GPS monitoring and to prohibit him from having access to firearms or participating in hunting-related activities.

The Hill has reached out to Danielle Jahn, the federal public defender representing Montgomery, for comment.

Montgomery is one of more than 400 people facing charges in connection with the riots that sought to disrupt the certification of President Biden’s electoral victory. A grand jury charged him with 10 counts in April for allegedly assaulting a Metropolitan Police Officer and entering Senate chambers.