Take this excerpt from an email exchange tied to Patrick Montgomery, a hunting guide from Littleton: "I’m not a scared cat or running from anything.... Im [sic] so deeply covered by the best Federal Defense lawyers in the country in case you chicken shit cry boys don’t want it takes to defend our freedom from these corrupt politicians."
The Justice Department continues to add material to its page about insurrection arrestees, with the latest update to the section related to one Coloradan, Robert Gieswein, appearing yesterday, January 28. Included are affidavits, indictments, statements of fact and more, frequently festooned with images from social media posts and videos showing the individuals in question inside the Capitol during one of the most disturbing events in recent American history.
Our January 18 post about Coloradans arrested in connection with the D.C. attack included information about five people said to be from the state: Gieswein, a Woodland Park resident and accused member of the militia group dubbed the 3 Percenters; former U.S. Olympic team swimmer Klete Keller, now a realtor based in Colorado Springs; Englewood's Stanley Williams; Frederick's Harlan Boen; and Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr., who was ID'd as a Colorado resident in court papers.
It is now known that Meredith is actually from Georgia (he'd been in Crested Butte for a ski vacation, then headed to D.C.), and neither Williams nor Boen are on the Justice Department roster because their alleged offenses are being handled at the local level. But two more individuals have recently joined the Colorado contingent in federal files: Montgomery and Jeffrey Sabol, whose LinkedIn page introduces him as a geophysicist from Denver.
Here's more about Colorado's federal foursome,drawn from Justice Department reports.
JEFFREY SABOL
Charge(s): Civil Disorder
Location of arrest: New York, Southern District
Arrest date (federal): January 27
The complaint and statement of facts naming Sabol offers photo evidence that Sabol took part in dragging a police officer down a set of steps directly into the clutches of a gathering mob. He's believed to be the circled man in the photo at the top of this post wearing a tan jacket and a green backpack.
According to Justice Department documents, at 4:30 p.m. on January 11, "officers from the Clarkstown Police Department responded to a vehicle, Massachusetts Registration 1XRR98, driving erratically in the town of New City, NY. The vehicle was located and the driver, subsequently identified as Jefferey SABOL, was found covered in blood, suffering from severe lacerations to both thighs and arms. While officers aided SABOL, he made several spontaneous statements to include but not limited to: 'I am tired, I am done fighting,' 'My wounds are self-inflicted,' I was 'fighting tyranny in the DC Capitol,' 'I am wanted by the FBI.'"
At that point, the cops "conducted an inventory search of SABOL's vehicle," the account continues. "The inventory included, among other items, razor blades, a note with instruction and password to a computer, SABOL's passport, Social Security card, airline e-ticket, rent car agreement and numerous electronic devices. Most important, the car contained a green backpack and tan Carhartt jacket."
ROBERT GIESWEIN
Charge(s): Obstruction of an Official Proceeding; Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers Using a Dangerous Weapon; Destruction of Government Property; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon
Location of arrest: District of Colorado
Arrest date (federal): January 18
During the Capitol raid, Gieswein wore a distinctive military-style outfit that made him stand out in various videos. His complaint and affidavit points out that one clip "captures GIESWEIN forcibly enter the Capitol through a broken window. In particular, starting at the approximate 25 second mark, GIESWEIN observes and encourages other rioters as they strike a window — first with a wooden board, and then with a stolen plastic law enforcement shield— until it breaks."
Seconds later, the document continues, "the rioters, including GIESWEIN, then climb through the window into the Capitol. As GIESWEIN scrambles up into the building, the baseball bat is visible in his hand."
A portrait of Patrick Montgomery that appears in a statement of facts released by the Department of Justice.
Charge(s): Knowingly Entering or Remaining in any Restricted Building or Grounds Without Lawful Authority; Violent Entry and Disorderly Conduct on Capitol Grounds
Location of arrest: District of Colorado
Arrest date (federal): January 17
Montgomery was brought to the attention of authorities by a Facebook friend dubbed T-1, for "Tipster 1," who is said to have worked with him for three years as a river guide.
In an email to Montgomery, T-1 wrote, "You have been reported to the police in DC as well as the FBI." The note prompted the Montgomery "scared cat" response, as well as this defense of his actions: "I didn’t storm the castle violently. My group was let in peacefully by the police we were talking to with respect. We came a[n]d left peacefully before the anarchist and Antifa showed up breaking shit and being hoodlums."
KLETE KELLER
Charge(s): Obstructing Law Enforcement Engaged In Official Duties Incident to Civil Disorder; Knowingly Entering or Remaining in any Restricted Building or Grounds Without Lawful Authority; Violent Entry and Disorderly Conduct on Capitol Grounds
Location of arrest: District of Colorado
Date of arrest (federal): January 22
Keller's identification was easy: His complaint and statement of facts make repeated mention of his height. One passage asserts, "Colorado state records and publicly available information list KELLER’s height at 6 feet, 6 inches tall, and PERSON 1 appears to be one of the tallest individuals in the video depicting individuals in the Rotunda."
Moreover, "open-source research revealed that KELLER is a three-time Olympic athlete and Olympic Gold Medalist, and PERSON 1 appears to be wearing a United States Olympic Team jacket in the video showing him in the Rotunda." The doc shows off a duplicate of the Olympic patch, too.
His storied athletic past earned Keller a post-riot profile in the New York Times, as well as ignominy that seems likely to last a lifetime.
Click to read the Jeffrey Sabol redacted complaint and statement of facts, the Patrick Montgomery redacted complaint and statement of facts, the Robert Gieswein complaint/affidavit and indictment, and the Klete Keller complaint.
