A Texas man facing federal charges linked to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol is apologizing for taking part in the storming of the Capitol and for\u00a0threatening Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez\u00a0and a Capitol Police officer.<\/p>\n
Garret Miller released a statement on Monday through his attorney claiming that he stormed the Capitol after becoming convinced by Donald\u00a0Trump\u2019s election fraud lies.\u00a0<\/span>The 34-year-old Miller had previously tweeted\u00a0\u201cAssassinate AOC\u201d\u00a0and threatened a Capitol Police officer who fatally shot a fellow rioter.<\/p>\n \u201cI am ashamed of my comments,\u201d Miller\u2019s statement read.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI was in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021, because I believed I was following the instructions of former President Trump and he was my president and the commander-in-chief. His statements also had me believing the election was stolen from him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNevertheless, I fully recognize Joe Biden is now the President of the United States and that the election is over. Donald Trump is no longer president and I would not have any reason to continue to follow his lead.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n As for his threats against the officer and the New York lawmaker, Miller said: \u201cWhile I never intended to harm Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez nor harm any members of the Capitol police force, I recognize that my social media posts were completely inappropriate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI want to publicly apologize to Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and the Capitol police officers. I have always supported law enforcement and I am ashamed by my comments,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n During an Instagram Live last week, Ocasio-Cortez said that a \u201cclose encounter\u201d led her to fear she was \u201cgoing to die\u201d during the insurrection. It is not clear if the person she was referring to was Miller. As of Monday evening, she hadn\u2019t commented on Miller\u2019s apology.\u00a0<\/p>\n Miller was arrested last Wednesday and charged with four counts including violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.<\/p>\n In his statement, he said he was not armed when he entered the Capitol and that he stayed in the rotunda. He claimed he went back to Texas after \u201cPresident Trump asked us to go home.\u201d<\/p>\n Miller said he had never been very interested in politics until recently, but that Trump\u2019s election fraud accusations \u201creally got to me and I felt I had to support him.\u201d<\/p>\n However, he also said he is \u201csolely responsible\u201d for his actions and that \u201cthere are no excuses for what I did\u201d before offering to testify at any trial or congressional proceeding.<\/p>\n