Feds Charge Man Who Bragged to Mom as He Stormed Capitol in Gladiator Costume
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An Arizona man is facing charges after storming the U.S. Capitol in a Roman gladiator costume—and documenting the siege in a series of narrated videos for his mom, prosecutors allege.
Nathan Wayne Entrekin, from Cottonwood, has been charged with two misdemeanors, including violent entry on Capitol grounds, for his role in the Jan. 6 siege. Prosecutors allege that after driving 2,200 miles from Arizona to Washington D.C. to answer Trump’s call to fight against the results of the 2020 election, he stormed the Capitol in a gladiator costume he brought online—complete with a wooden dowl—and documented the siege in several videos.
“This is our house! Wow, Mom. I wish you were here with me. It’s really exciting in here. It’s joyful and it’s sad at the same time. We can’t let Biden...to be our president. We can’t...there’s no way,” Entrekin says in one video, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Thursday. Entrekin’s arrest was first reported by HuffPost.
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The complaint says that Entrekin wore the costume to portray Captain Moroni, a figure from the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement. In the text, Moroni “sought to defend the liberties of his people—the Nephites—from another group—the Amalickiahites—that wanted to overthrow democracy and install a king,” the complaint says.
In a February interview with the FBI, Entrekin admitted to police he entered the Capitol about an hour after the building was first breached and that he meticulously documented his experience inside in several videos.
Entrekin “appears to have made the videos for his mother—with whom he lives in Cottonwood, AZ—as he often speaks directly to her during the recording,” the complaint states.
“I’m here, Mom!” Entrekin said in one video, according to the complaint. “This is my flag!”
“Are we going up? This is a good workout. Forward, forward, forward,” he said in another, prosecutors allege. “I made it, Mom. I made it to the top. Mom, look, I made it to the top, to the top here. Look at all the patriots here. Haha, if I can make it up that, anybody can.”
In another video, Entrekin details how he is only inside the Capitol “for Trump...our rightful president!” before encountering Capitol Police officers trying to move rioters out of the building.
Later, when Entrekin was inside the Senate Parliamentarian’s office, his videos appear to show him realizing the gravity of his mistake.
“Oh shit. Oh, Mom. I don’t think you want to be here, Mom. I mean you do want to be here but in spirit. Yeah, haha. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. What happened?” he says. “Holy shit. Oh my gosh, they broke the ...oh shoot, they looted. Oh shit. I gotta go. We gotta go, we gotta get out of here.”
Prosecutors, however, argued that Entrekin quickly got over his hesitation and was seen laughing at another rioter who stole a whisky bottle. Making his way back into the Capitol Crypt, Entrekin continued to narrate for his mom while joining in on chants of “USA” and “our house.”
After confirming to another rioter that he was dressed as Moroni, Entrekin is captured on video entering the office of Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the complaint says. Inside, he tells several other people he wants ice cream before deciding he should leave.
“All right, I guess, uh, with respect to the people that are coming in I gotta get out. We got more people who want to come in, we gotta respect that too, you know. Ope, sorry you guys. Uh, well, whoa. Alright,” Entrekin said in the video, according to the complaint. “I should’ve bought that centurion helmet after all. Alright. Gotta go, mom. Yo!”
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