Images via FBI
The Arizona man who stormed the Capitol dressed in what he said was the garb of a figure from the Book of Mormon has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.
Nathan Wayne Entrekin, 48, clad in what prosecutors described as a “Roman Gladiator Costume,” was among the hundreds of Donald Trump supporters who breached the Capitol on Jan. 6 in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying the results of Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election.
“I’m representing Captain Moroni, Captain Moroni of the Book of Mormon,” Entrekin told another person, according to the statement of facts. “A William Wallace figure of the Book of Mormon.”
According to the Book of Mormon, the sacred text of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Captain Moroni was the chief captain of the Nephites. As the statement of facts said, Captain Moroni is believed to have led a fight against a group that “wanted to overthrow democracy and install a king.”
Entrekin took many recordings throughout the day, including one as he reached the top of a set of stairs outside the building:
I made it Mom. I made it to the top. Mom, look, I made it to the top, to the top here. Look at all the patriots here. Haha, if I can make it up that, anybody can. [laughs] Oh man. Look at all the patriots here. Patriots, patriots, patriots. Look at all the people, Mom. Look at all that down there. And the monuments over there, way over there. I gotta catch my breath here. Sorry. Haha.
[yelling to an unseen protester] Captain Moroni! Same fight, same place, different time. 76 B.C.!
I’m here for Trump. Four more years, Donald Trump! Our rightful president! I made it to the relative top, anyway. Oh my gosh, how many of us are here? Must be like, millions. Couple million, maybe. I keep running into trees, though. I gotta get this first, though, before my costume falls off me. Check this out, Mom. All those people.
After entering the Capitol, Entrekin made his way throughout various points inside the building, including the Senate Parliamentarian’s office. He also apparently considered going into the office of Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), according to the statement of facts.
“Where’s my ice cream, Nancy?” Entrekin can also be heard saying, in what prosecutors say is a reference to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi‘s (D-Calif.) appearance on a late-night TV show in which she talked about her freezer that she stocks with high-end ice cream.
Entrekin could be heard encouraging those around him to leave the building, although not necessarily because he realized that he was part of an illegal attempt to interrupt the peaceful transition of power.
“All right, I guess uh with respect to the people that are coming in I gotta get out,” he said, according to the statement of facts. “We got more people who want to come in, we gotta respect that too, you know.”
Although Entrekin compared himself to the Scottish rebel William Wallace, his ultimate fate was far from a torturous death. Instead, Entrekin’s Capitol journey ended with a guilty plea to a misdemeanor. He appeared by video before U.S. District Judge Florence Pan, a Biden appointee, and pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building,
The charge carries a potential six-month jail sentence. According to federal court filings, at least 54 Jan. 6 defendants have pleaded guilty to this particular charge, with sentences ranging from one month of probation to 60 days of incarceration.
Pan set Entrekin’s sentencing for April 22.
[Images via FBI]
