Gabriel Garcia, Miami Proud Boys member, ex-GOP candidate, arrested for role in Capitol mob

A Miami member of the extremist Proud Boys group who once ran unsuccessfully for elected office was arrested early Tuesday on allegations he took part in the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol.

Gabriel Garcia made his first appearance in federal court Tuesday as a criminal complaint against him was unsealed. He is being charged with engaging in acts of civil disorder, entering restricted grounds and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

According to a criminal complaint, Garcia, 40, recorded and uploaded a series of Facebook videos of himself inside the Capitol along with others in the mob. “We just went ahead and stormed the Capitol. It’s about to get ugly,” he says in the video.

The complaint alleges that Garcia — a Trump supporter wearing a red Make America Great Again cap — yelled at U.S. Capitol police, calling them “f---ing traitors” and “USA! Storm this sh-t!”

At one point, he dropped a large American flag he’d been holding and began grappling with officers as they tried to detain another Trump supporter, according to the complaint.

In another video from the Capitol’s Rotunda, he also yelled out “Nancy come out and play!” — an apparent reference to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is a frequent target of supporters of President Donald Trump. He also says “Free Enrique,” a reference to Enrique Tarrio, the Miami-based leader of the Proud Boys who was arrested days before the insurrection in Washington, D.C., according to the complaint.

FBI agents also said that another person on Facebook tagged Garcia and called him “El Capitan” — which is also Garcia’s handle on Telegram, an encrypted chat app favored by right-wing groups. The nickname is a reference to Garcia’s service in the military — he is a former U.S. Army captain.

Garcia was granted a $100,000 bond during Tuesday’s hearing in Miami federal court. In the evening, he still remained in a Miami federal detention center. It was unknown if he has a defense lawyer. A call to Garcia’s cellphone went unanswered.

He’ll stand trial in federal court in Washington, D.C.

Last year, Garcia ran for Florida House District 116 as a Trump backer. He described himself as a “lifelong, loyal Republican” in challenging incumbent Daniel Perez. Garcia’s candidacy was promoted by a political committee that has attacked Perez, also a Republican, while receiving $400,000 raised by outgoing Republican House Speaker Jose Oliva.

Garcia, who won 41% of the vote in his unsuccessful challenge of Perez, later told the Herald that descriptions of the Proud Boys as a hate group are lies.

“I’m upset we were called a hate group [in the debate] when you have antifa beating up on elderly people coming out of Trump rallies, burning down police cars,” he said of the anti-fascism protest movement marked by outbursts of violence on the left. “You’ll never see any of us do that.”

The Proud Boys — who were name-dropped by Trump during a debate last fall — have been among the most visible groups believed to have participated in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Critics say the group supports racist and misogynistic ideals and have denounced it as a hate group.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Tarrio and the Proud Boys were instrumental in spreading Trump’s call for a stand at the Capitol and repeating the fiction that the election was stolen. “What if we invade it?” Tarrio allegedly wrote to his thousands of followers on Telegram, according to the Journal.

Garcia’s affiliation with the Proud Boys was not known when he ran for office last year. He also made the news when, in October, he interrupted a speech in West Miami-Dade by Kamala Harris, now the vice president-elect.

Garcia was the second South Floridian arrested on Tuesday. According to federal authorities, Felipe Marquez, of Coral Springs, was charged after agents said Snapchat videos showed him entering the Capitol while smoking from a vape pen. Video showed he also entered an office belonging to Sen. Jeff Merkley, of Oregon, according to a criminal complaint.

Merkley later posted a video to Twitter that appeared to document damage to his office.