Politics- A rioter photographed holding zip-tie handcuffs during the US
Capitol siege has been identified as a decorated Air Force veteran from Texas, the New Yorker reported. - The man is Larry Rendall Brock Jr., a retired lieutenant colonel who had grown increasingly radical in recent years, according to the magazine.
- Brock told reporter Ronan Farrow that he wore combat gear because he "didn't want to get stabbed or hurt" by "BLM or Antifa.
A rioter dressed in full combat gear and carrying zip-tie handcuffs during the US Capitol siege is a decorated US Air Force veteran, the New Yorker reported Saturday.
An article by Ronan Farrow named the man, seen in photos from Wednesday's attack, as Larry Rendall Brock Jr.
Farrow said that Brock was a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force, a senior rank that usually requires 15 years of service to achieve.
Brock confirmed to Farrow that he was the man in the photos. He claimed that he had been planning to give the zip-tie cuffs to police rather than use them himself.
Farrow said that relatives told him Brock had grown increasingly radical in recent years, and had been vocal on social media about traveling to Washington, DC, for President Donald Trump's "Save America" rally.
A Twitter account and a LinkedIn page for Brock had both been recently deleted, the New Yorker post said.
The rally turned violent after hundreds of rioters stormed the US Capitol Building, wreaking havoc inside, and prompting lawmakers to be evacuated. Five people died in the violence.
Photographs from the day show Brock wearing tactical gear, including a helmet, as he walks around the Senate floor.
Brock told Farrow that he wore the gear because he "didn't want to get stabbed or hurt" by "BLM or Antifa."
He also said he regretted carrying the handcuffs, which he said he found on the floor.
"I wish I had not picked those up," Brock said, according to the New Yorker. "My thought process there was I would pick them up and give them to an officer when I see one."
"I didn't do that because I had put them in my coat, and I honestly forgot about them," he said.
Brock said he did not identify as part of any organized group. He said he assumed he was free to enter the Capitol.
"The president asked for his supporters to be there to attend, and I felt like it was important, because of how much I love this country, to actually be there," he said, the New Yorker reported.
Brock told Farrow that he fought in Afghanistan and served in a non-combat capacity, in Iraq. He said he received three Meritorious Service Medals, six Air Medals, and three Aerial Achievement Medals.
An Air Force spokeswoman confirmed that Brock had served. It said he retired from the Air Force Reserve in 2014. The statement did not say whether he was in full-time service before the reserve, or for how long.
Business Insider has contacted the Air Force for more information on Brock.
As of Friday, law enforcement arrested 82 people involved in the siege, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Authorities are still making public appeals to identify as many of the rioters as possible. It is unclear whether Brock has been arrested.
- Read more:
- 'Traitors to the country': Military veterans in Congress accuse Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley of helping incite the fatal violence on Capitol Hill
- Photos show the trail of destruction inside the US Capitol following an attempted coup by pro-Trump supporters
- An Air Force veteran who taught himself to code explains how he started a nonprofit that has educated other vets on how to get jobs in tech
- Some among America's military allies believe Trump deliberately attempted a coup and may have had help from federal law-enforcement officials