An Arizona man who dressed as Captain Moroni and was seen on video during the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection has been arrested by the FBI.
According to an FBI affidavit, the man has been identified as Nathan Wayne Entrekin. The documents said he stood out from the crowd because of the outfit he wore — a gladiator costume complete with a flag with this text written on it: IN MEMORY OF OUR GOD, OUR RELIGION, AND FREEDOM, AND OUR PEACE, OUR WIVES, AND OUR CHILDREN. ALMA 46:12
Congress was in session on Jan. 6, working to certify the U.S. presidential election of Joe Biden despite false claims by President Trump and his supporters that the election had been “rigged.”
Entrekin faces two misdemeanor charges of “knowingly enter(ing) or remain(ing) in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority” and “knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt orderly conduct of government business or official functions, engage in disorderly or disruptive conduct in or with proximity to any restricted building or grounds.” 18 U.S.C. §§ 1752(a)(1) and (2).
According to the affidavit, the defendant explained his costume in an open source video that appears to have been recorded on Jan. 6.
“I am Captain Moroni. I am the William Wallace of the Book of Mormon,” Entrekin said. He further described Captain Moroni as a “freedom fighter” and said he was at the Capitol to represent the “Mormon element,” referring to Captain Moroni’s fight for freedom as described in Alma 46.
“Cause a lot of people are like Mitt Romney, you know,” he said. “There’s a lot of infiltrators in our nation, in our Capitol, in our churches.” He was videotaped saying he thinks Sen. Mitt Romney might be one of those “infiltrators” who have “sold out to the system.”
The affidavit includes screenshots of video footage from the defendant’s phone while at the Capitol. The pictures show the crowd both outside the building and following its entry.
“I made it Mom. I made it to the top. Mom, look, I made it to the top, to the top here,” the defendant said in one video, according to the FBI. “Look at all the patriots here. Haha, if I can make it up that, anybody can.”
Charging documents said the defendant eventually entered the building with other protestors and was seen on security camera outside the Senate Parliamentarian’s office. In one video, before entering the office, the defendant states according to the FBI: “Something’s going on, they’re pushing us back out. Some kind of machine gun taser or something. I don’t know what the (expletive) is going on. I want to go in here though.”
According to the affidavit, the defendant made several claims in a non-custodial interview that are inconsistent with the video he recorded and narrated.
For example, Entrekin claimed he was not aware he wasn’t allowed in the Capitol and said individuals were being herded into the building. He claimed his experience in the Capitol was “solemn” and “revered.” He also claimed that when he saw broken glass and looting, he felt the need to depart the Capitol immediately.
But in the video footage, the charging documents say the defendant identified very early that he could see and smell tear gas. He also narrated to his mother when the “riot police” arrived, and when he entered the Capitol through the door outside the Senate Parliamentarian’s office, there was an alarm blaring and he saw water on the floor, the documents state.
“Still, he pushed forward and entered the Senate Parliamentarian’s office,” the affidavit states. Once inside, he recorded the destruction and what he described as looting.
He left and then reentered the Capitol a short time later according to the affidavit. “It does not appear that the defendant is being pushed, forced or herded into the Capitol against his will.”
