Image by Richard Burton from Pixabay
October 25, 2023 - WASHINGTON – A Texas man was found guilty in the District of Columbia on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023, of three felony and four misdemeanor charges related to his conduct during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.
Wilmar Jeovanny Montano Alvarado, 40, of Houston, Texas, was found guilty of all charges against him following a bench trial before U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Leon in the District of Columbia. Montano Alvarado was convicted of three felony offenses, including civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers.
In addition to the felonies, Montano Alvarado was convicted of four misdemeanor offenses, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and impeding passage through the Capitol building or grounds.
Judge Leon will sentence Montano Alvarado on Feb. 8, 2024.
According to the government’s evidence, Montano Alvarado traveled from his home in Houston to Washington, D.C., to protest the certification of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021. Authorities identified Montano Alvarado on multiple open-source videos from that day, including one video where Montano Alvarado is seen wearing a brown jacket with a gray hood, a U.S. flag neck gaiter, and a red, white, and blue hat bearing “TRUMP” in white lettering.
Video evidence depicts Montano Alvarado in the Lower West Terrace Tunnel – an entrance to the Capitol building – at the front of a group of rioters, actively pushing against police officers blocking the entrance. He wanted to gain access to the Capitol building because he knew the certification of the electoral votes was ongoing in the building. After Montano Alvarado pushed against police at the entrance for about four minutes, another rioter threw a large speaker towards the police line, incidentally hitting Montano Alvarado in the head. Only after suffering this head injury did Montano Alvarado stop pushing police officers and leave the tunnel.
Following the events at the Capitol that day, Montano Alvarado gave an interview to a local media outlet in Houston, in which he stated that he flew from Houston to the U.S. Capitol to attend the January 6th protests because he believed election fraud may have compromised his vote. Montano Alvarado further told the reporter that he saw other individuals push past the barriers to gain entry to the Capitol grounds, and he followed them.
Montano Alvarado was arrested on Jan. 29, 2021, in Houston.
The Court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Houston and Washington Field Offices, which identified Montano Alvarado as BOLO (Be on the Lookout) #65 on its seeking information photos. The U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department provided valuable assistance.
In the 33 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,100 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 400 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
Source: DOJ Release
