Federal judge rules Grapevine man involved in the Capitol Building Riot can go home until trial
By Rebecca Aguilar
Senior Correspondent
Retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Larry Brock Jr. of Grapevine made his second appearance in federal court in Fort Worth on Thursday [January 14th].
That’s when a federal judge decided the Grapevine man could be released from FBI custody on conditions that he wear an ankle monitor and remain at home until his trial.
The 53-year-old turned himself in to Grapevine police four days after the Capitol building riots on January 6. Then the FBI took custody of him and booked him on two federal charges.
Texas Metro News obtained the FBI’s arrest warrant and criminal complaint that detailed Brocks involvement in the riot. The court documents state Brock, “knowingly and willfully joined and encouraged a crowd of individuals who forcibly entered the U.S. Capitol and impeded, disrupted, and disturbed the orderly conduct of the business of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate.”
The court documents also included photos of Brock on the Senate floor with a hand full of zip-tie restraints and dressed in military clothes.
Federal agents were able to find Brock after two people, including Brock’s ex-wife, identified him from photos and video they saw on social media and television.
She told investigators she recognized him in a photograph dressed in a military-style helmet, khaki pants, gray and black fatigues over a military vest, and a patch from his military service. According to the criminal complaint, she said, “I just know that when I saw this was happening, I was afraid he would be there. I think you already know he was there. It is such a good picture of him, and I recognized his patch.”
The violence at the Capitol building left five people dead, including a Capitol police officer. There have been more than 100 arrests made in connection with the violence at the Capitol.
Thursday, prosecutors showed the Fort Worth judge the photos of Brock on the Senate floor. An FBI agent testified that they found the military gear Brock was wearing during the riot at his Grapevine home. They wanted to prove he was a danger to the public.
Brock confirmed to The New Yorker that he was in the photos from the Senate floor, and he also said that he had gone to Washington D.C. to demonstrate peacefully.
Brock’s defense attorneys showed the judge his military service and his honorable discharge from the military.
Texas Metro News also obtained the document with the judge’s conditions of release. Brock was ordered to turn over any passports and any weapons. He was also ordered to stay off the internet unless permitted by the courts, while remaining home on release.
His trial date has not been set yet.
Thursday, FBI Director Chris Wray said his agency had identified more than 200 people as suspects in the riot.
He had one warning for the suspects still on the loose, “We know who you are if you’re out there, and FBI agents are coming to find you.”
