Florida Keys couple linked to Jan. 6 riots released after appearing before federal judge
A Florida Keys couple accused of taking part in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol in Washington were released from federal custody after making their first appearance before a judge in Key West on Tuesday afternoon, according to court documents.
Bryan and Tonya Bishop were released on $100,000 personal surety bonds each after appearing before Judge Lurana Snow in federal court in the Southernmost City around noon.
The bond means they didn’t have to put up any money before being released, but they are responsible for the full amount if they fail to show up for their initial appearance to answer to charges against them, scheduled for Aug. 17 in Washington, D.C.
As part of the couple’s terms of release, they must be monitored electronically, remove firearms from their home, which is a sailboat moored in a harbor in the Middle Keys city of Marathon, surrender their passports, and they cannot mortgage or sell any of their property, court documents state.
Their attorney, a federal public defender, did not return an emailed request for comment.
Out of the two, Bryan Roger Bishop, 51, faces the more serious charges, including assaulting police with a deadly or dangerous weapon. He’s accused of spraying a chemical irritant in the face of two Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department officers who were trying to contain the riot, according to court documents released Monday.
Tonya Bishop, 47, is accused of trespassing in the Capitol and faces charges of entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct in the Capitol and parading “and demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.”
Heavily armed federal agents arrested them Monday night after they came ashore at Marathon’s municipal marina in a dinghy from their sailboat. The agents were backed by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and state fish and wildlife officers.
Sources say they have been living on their sailboat, named Glory, in Boot Key Harbor, for about a year.
Not much else information about the couple’s personal or professional life was immediately available. They also appear to have no social media footprint.
According to court documents, the couple married sometime after the Jan. 6 attacks. Tonya Bishop went by the name Tonya Allison-Oberst prior to the couple’s marriage, the FBI said in its criminal complaint.
Bryan Bishop was identified by matching his photo captured on Capitol security camera footage with his photos on driver’s licenses from Florida, Minnesota and Idaho, as well as a passport application, according to the FBI complaint.
Agents say that one of the officers he sprayed temporarily lost his eyesight and had to be led to safety by a fellow officer.
“For the next seven to 10 minutes [the officer] had to fight through the crowd without being able to see and was in fear for his life,” the FBI’s complaint states.
Federal agents said the Bishops were part of a group that traveled to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the day of a joint session of Congress to certify the election of President Joe Biden.
According to the complaint against Tonya Bishop, she called her husband’s son on Jan. 4, 2021, while he was in prison, and told him: “On the 6th, Trump has called The Patriots together, a bunch of us are headed over there.” The call was recorded, the complaint states.
Her specific charges in the complaint say she entered and remained in the Capitol building and engaged in “disorderly conduct” while inside “restricted buildings or grounds.”
So far, more than 1,000 people have been arrested in connection with the riots, and former President Donald Trump was indicted this month for what federal prosecutors say was his role in the events that led to the attack on the Capitol.
