A man under investigation for his role in the Capitol riot on January 6 faces possible arrest for shooting and killing a mountain lion on his pretrial release.
Federal prosecutors on Wednesday filed a motion seeking to revoke Capitol rioter Patrick Montgomery’s pretrial release after they were made aware that he shot a mountain lion with a .357 Magnum handgun on March 31 at a wildlife park in Denver.
“Given that Montgomery has repeatedly and flagrantly violated both state and federal law while on pretrial release in this case — including by possessing and using a firearm — the Government respectfully requests that the Court revoke his release pending trial,” prosecutors said in the motion, the Washington Post reported.
Prosecutors noted that Montgomery is a professional hunting guide.
A U.S. District Court judge in Washington D.C. granted the request. Montgomery has until 2 p.m. Monday to turn himself in to Colorado authorities.
The court found there was “probable cause” to believe that Montgomery had committed a crime and was “unlikely to abide by any condition or combination of conditions of release.”
An officer with the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) told the FBI that Montgomery notified him that he killed the mountain lion, as required by law.
A mandatory background check revealed that Montgomery was convicted of three robbery counts in Dona Ana County and sentenced in 1996 to six years in the New Mexico Department of Corrections, according to a CPW report, which would prohibit him from having a firearm.
Federal prosecutors also referenced in their motion another hunting incident which occurred less than a week after Montgomery’s federal arrest in January. In that incident he contacted CPW regarding a dead bobcat.
He told CPW that his dogs had killed the bobcat, but they later learned that his dogs only killed the bobcat after he had knocked it out of the tree with a slingshot.
He was charged with Illegal Taking of Wildlife and Illegal Possession of Wildlife, both misdemeanors. He has a hearing in that case on May 19.
Montgomery was arrested on Jan. 17 for his role in the deadly insurrection at the Capitol. He has been charged with disorderly conduct, assault, tampering with a witness, violent entry, entry/remaining in a restricted building and assaulting a police officer.
