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Capitol riot suspect fatally shoots mountain lion, defies order to not own guns, prosecutors say

Prosecutors say Patrick Montgomery, 48, violated orders to not possess a gun when he shot and killed a mountain lion at park in Denver, Colorado.

A Colorado man who was charged in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol could face house arrest after he shot and killed a mountain lion — breaking state and federal laws by possessing a gun, federal prosecutors said.

After he was arrested in January for his alleged role in the Capitol siege, Patrick Montgomery, of Littleton, Colorado, was released from custody under a number of pretrial conditions, including that he not possess a firearm and not violate state or federal law, according to court documents.

In a motion to revoke his release last week, federal prosecutors said Montgomery violated those terms after he shot and killed a mountain lion at a park in Denver in late March. Along with the stipulations in his release, Montgomery was also banned from owning a gun after he was previously convicted for a robbery in 1996.

"Montgomery has no respect for the Court’s orders, just like he had no respect for law enforcement at the Capitol on January 6," prosecutors said in the motion. "Montgomery has flagrantly violated the law and has shown by his actions that he is unlikely to abide by Court orders."

Federal authorities first learned of Montgomery when tipsters identified him inside the Capitol building on Jan. 6 in photos posted to his Facebook, according to an affidavit.

One of his photos allegedly appeared to show the Senate Chamber, accompanied with a caption that read: “We stormed the Senate…opened those Chamber door for Transparency!”

Prosecutors said in the motion that, during the riot, Montgomery "tried to grab Metropolitan Police Department officer’s baton, wrestled him to the ground for it, and then kicked the officer in the chest while wearing a boot."

He was arrested in January and indicted last month on 10 charges, including assaulting a police officer, engaging in physical violence and illegally entering Capitol grounds, according to the documents. He pleaded not guilty to all counts.

In late January while on pretrial release, Montgomery was also cited and charged for two offenses in connection to illegally hunting a bobcat, according to court records. He allegedly knocked the feline out of a tree with a slingshot and allowed his dogs to maul the bobcat.

And on March 31, Montgomery used a .357 Magnum handgun to kill a mountain lion at a park in Denver, prosecutors claimed in their motion. Montgomery was previously banned from possessing a firearm after he pleaded guilty to a felony robbery in New Mexico. He was sentenced to six years in prison in 1996.

Efforts to reach Montgomery by phone numbers listed for him Monday were unsuccessful. His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Friday, a U.S. District Court judge in Washington, D.C., granted the prosecutors’ request to revoke Montgomery’s conditional release, according to court documents. However, instead of detaining Montgomery, the judge instructed the parties to agree to new bond conditions, which could include 24-hour house arrest, GPS monitoring and a ban on possessing and using a firearm.

A hearing for the new bond conditions is scheduled on Monday.

A court hearing for the bobcat shooting is scheduled on May 19, and a status hearing on July 28 for his alleged role in the Capitol riot.

Montgomery is one of hundreds across the country who have been charged with taking part in the Capitol incursion, which left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer. Montgomery is not charged in any of these deaths.

The siege led to the unprecedented second impeachment of then-President Donald Trump, who held a rally before the riot promoting false claims of election fraud. He was later acquitted in the Senate.