Gabriel Augustin Garcia biography: 13 things about US Capitol riot suspect, Proud Boys member from Florida

Gabriel Augustin Garcia is from Florida, United States. He is a member of the Proud Boys and a Donald Trump supporter.

Garcia is a retired U.S. Army captain. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. He was born in New Jersey, USA but he has lived in Miami, Florida since he was 3 years old. (a)
2. In 1999, he graduated from Miami Coral Park Senior High School. (a)
3. He attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida and joined the ranks of the U.S. Army via the National Guard as a private first class in the infantry in April 2002. (a)
4. When he was in the U.S. Army, he received the Bronze Star. After serving in South Korea and Iraq, he received an honorable discharge in April 2017. (a)
5. After serving in the U.S. Army, he opened Supreme Aluminum Florida, a small construction business in Miami-Dade County, Florida. (a)
6. He is pro-life and is passionate about better health care for military veterans. He is against the campaign to defund the police. (a)
7. He is a strong supporter of the U.S. Constitution, especially the Second Amendment. (a)
8. In October 2020, he defended the Proud Boys from those who were labelling it as a hate group. He said, “I’m upset we were called a hate group when you have antifa beating up on elderly people coming out of Trump rallies, burning down police cars. You’ll never see any of us do that.” In the same month, he tried to interrupt the speech by then U.S. senator Kamala Harris during a rally at the Florida International University (FIU) South Campus in Miami. (b) (c) (d)
9. As a Republican, he ran in District 116 in Miami-Dade for the Florida State House but he only received 41 percent of the vote on August 18, 2020 and lost to incumbent Daniel Perez. (a) Former Florida House Speaker Jose Oliva financially backed his run. (e)
10. Wearing a red Make America Great Again (MAGA) cap, he went to the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., USA on January 6, 2021. That day, Trump’s supporters breached the building while a joint session of Congress was certifying the vote of the Electoral College and affirming Joe Biden‘s victory in the 2020 presidential election. During the riot, he posted at least two Facebook live videos. In one of the videos, he said, “We just went ahead and stormed the Capitol. It’s about to get ugly.” (f)
11. A Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent filed a criminal against him, which was signed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Robin M. Meriweather on January 17, 2021. (f)
12. FBI agents arrested him on January 19, 2021. (g) He was 40 years old when he was arrested. (c)
13. For his participation in the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, he was charged with aiding and abetting certain acts during civil disorder, violent entry and disorderly conduct on U.S. Capitol grounds and knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority. Represented by Aubrey Webb, he appeared in court and was given a bond and would be freed from custody on January 21, 2021. (f) (g)

(This is a developing story. More details are being added.)

SOURCES:

• a. Ballotpedia
• b. Miami Herald
• c. Tampa Bay Times
• d. Miami Herald
• e. Bianca Padro Ocasio
• f. U.S. Department of Justice
• g. NBC News