A ‘glorified tour’? Miami Proud Boy accused of Capitol breach claims he wasn’t trespassing

Gabriel Garcia, a prominent Miami member of the far right group Proud Boys, is charged with storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 along with hundreds of others. During the chaos, he streamed live on Facebook, saying it was “about to get ugly,” yelling “traitors” and “Nancy come out and play,” an ominous phrase seemingly directed at Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi.

As he was formally charged this week in federal court, Garcia is now previewing the same defense employed by dozens of others who were part of the mob that staged a violent and unprecedented invasion of the U.S. Capitol that left five dead, 140 people injured and forced shaken congressional leaders and staffers to flee their office and chambers.

Garcia sees it this way: He wasn’t technically trespassing because no cops stopped him from entering.

Speaking to the Miami Herald in his first public comments since his arrest, he depicted his entry into the building as nothing more than a “glorified tour” of the “People’s House.”

“It’s most the expensive tour of my life I can tell you that, but yes, a glorified tour,” Garcia said. “Believe it or not, wherever there was red velvet lines or any of that, I stayed there. I didn’t wander off. My intentions were never to go into anyone’s office, destroy anything.”

The former U.S. Army captain and failed Florida House of Representatives candidate insists he only entered the Capitol because doors were open, barricades were gone, people were streaming inside and cops appeared to be directing the flow of people. Garcia claimed he arrived late, never participated in any violence and simply wanted to voice concerns over what he claims was possible election fraud — campaign fictions that have been repeatedly tossed from courts and debunked, including by the White House’s own election cyber-security expert.

“My intention wasn’t to go find Congress or walk in and stop the election process,” Garcia said. “My intention was to have my voice heard and make sure that, you know, people listen.”

Federal prosecutors and a grand jury say he committed a crime. Garcia, 40, is facing two federal felonies and four misdemeanors relating to disorderly conduct and trespassing in the Capitol. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday during a brief virtual arraignment hearing in Washington D.C. federal court. He is free on bond, and remains under court supervision.

Whether Garcia’s “nobody tried to stop me” defense strategy works remains to be seen. Dozens of other defendants have made similar claims, saying they believed police officers were letting them into a facility that typically operates under intense security protocols. Legal experts predict it’ll be a tough sell to jurors.

Former D.C. federal prosecutor Rizzy Qureshi said the government will likely rely on surveillance footage, social media — and the plentiful no-trespassing signs at the complex — to try and prove Garcia knew his entry was illegal.

“D.C. residents are used to First Amendment activity. It’s part of our lives. But D.C. residents, many of whom are federal employees, also have zero tolerance for violence,” said Qureshi, who is not involved in the case and is now a private defense lawyer in the nation’s capital. “Ultimately, these individuals who invaded the U.S. Capitol essentially hijacked the First Amendment and are now hiding behind it.”

Garcia is one of over 300 people facing trial for the unprecedented Jan. 6. breach of the Capitol building, although his charges are not as serious as other members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, another extremist group.

Federal prosecutors have zeroed in on the Proud Boys, arresting over a dozen members, some on charges of conspiracy. Members describe themselves as “Western chauvinists” and were among the most strident supporters of former President Donald J. Trump, often brawling with left-wing protesters at rallies against police brutality.

Trump himself gave the group a huge boost when, at a presidential debate, he said “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.”

The group is headed by Miami’s Enrique Tarrio, who was not in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 after having been arrested two days earlier for burning a Black Lives Matter banner outside a church. Tarrio has insisted that the Proud Boys did not “coordinate” the breaching of the Capitol.

In his interview with the Herald, Garcia defended his own membership in the group and said he was in Washington on his own accord, not with other Proud Boys. He believes the group has an undeserved extremist reputation and is simply in need of more positive P.R. The group, he said, needs to “give ourselves a better image,” perhaps by hosting food and toy drives.

“We’re not racist or white supremacists,” said Garcia, who is Cuban American. “We want to give back to our communities. Get involved in politics.”

Organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism characterize the Proud Boys as a hate group that regularly spreads misogynist, racist and anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim messages, while instigating violence and unrest.

“Optically, they may be able to boast about having members from diverse backgrounds, but when we drill down on their rhetoric and actions, it paints a much different story,” said Emily Kaufman, an investigative researcher at the ADL’s Center on Extremism.

Last year, Garcia ran for Florida House District 116 as a Trump backer. He described himself as a “lifelong, loyal Republican” in challenging incumbent Daniel Perez, who is also a Republican. Garcia’s membership in the Proud Boys only emerged after Garcia lost the race.

If Garcia goes to trial, it will be in Washington D.C., and won’t be for at least 60 days.

He agreed to an interview with the Herald because he said he feels “like I’m already being put as guilty without even having a trial.” (Garcia had his own videographer record the interview because he said he doesn’t trust the media).

Garcia outlined his defense if he does go to trial.

In a criminal complaint, the FBI pointed out that Garcia, on Facebook Live, live streamed the chaotic scene inside the Capitol. “We just went ahead and stormed the Capitol. It’s about to get ugly,” he says in one video.

Garcia downplayed the comment. “When I said that it was going to get ugly for both sides because I saw there was violence,” said Garcia, who is also heard asking a police officer if he needs water.

On another Facebook video from the Capitol’s Rotunda, he also barks out “Nancy come out and play!” — a seeming reference to Pelosi, who is a frequent target of Trump supporters.

Garcia, in his interview, acknowledged parroting the famous line from the 1979 movie “The Warriors,” but insisted he had no intention to harm or confront Pelosi. But Garcia also played coy about what he really meant by the line.

“Here’s the thing. Which Nancy am I talking about? I never said speaker of the house. Nancy Lopez? Maybe Nancy Reagan?” he said.

Asked about the identity of “Nancy Lopez,” he described her as customer for his patio and roofing business.

“Is there proof I was talking about Nancy Pelosi? Can you prove it? Or anybody out there?I would love to see the proof. If someone can get in my head and tell me, hey I’m talking about Nancy Pelosi. But no, I wasn’t.”

Garcia is not charged with issuing any kind of threat against Pelosi.

He also insisted that he was not there to disrupt the counting of electoral votes, instead wanting to “have my voice heard” over possible election fraud — a widely debunked claim pushed by Trump and other Republicans. Garcia said he believes Biden won the election, but he still wanted “both sides to be investigated.”

He also said he wasn’t calling Capitol police officers “traitors” on the Facebook video, but was instead was referring to lawmakers who he claimed didn’t want to investigate election fraud.

If convicted, Garcia faces up to 27 years in prison, although as a first-time offender, he would likely not be punished so severely. His Miami defense attorney, Aubrey Webb, called the case a “political prosecution.”

“Mr. Garcia is being charged for being present in the Capitol on January 6,” Webb said. “He didn’t hurt anyone and he didn’t destroy any property.”