Who is Patrick Montgomery? Alleged Capitol rioter faces house arrest after hunting mountain lion in Colorado
A Colorado man who allegedly participated in the January 6 riot at the US Capitol is now accused of shooting a mountain lion. He has now been put under house arrest. Patrick Montgomery was charged with a 10-count indictment for his part in the riots at the US Capitol in January but was granted a conditional release that prohibited him from possessing a firearm. Montgomery broke the condition in March when he shot a mountain lion with a.357 revolver in a Denver park, according to court documents.
Since his arrest, Montgomery has been on pre-trial release, but according to court documents, he has violated his release conditions, and prosecutors are seeking to revoke it. Here's what's to know about who he is.
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Who is Patrick Montgomery?
Montgomery is a resident of Littleton, Colorado and was sentenced to six years in prison for a 1996 robbery and was prohibited from possessing a weapon, including a handgun, by authorities, court records stated. In February 2021, after being charged in the January riot he was ordered, among other things, "not [to] violate federal, state, or local law while on release," "do not commit any Federal or State crimes," and "do not possess illegal firearms," court documents stated. However, FBI Task Force Officer Michael Timmerman learned that Montgomery used a handgun to shoot a mountain lion at a Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) park in March. He was questioned by Colorado Parks and Wildlife about his robbery conviction, but he said he was licensed to hunt with a rifle, but he couldn't prove it, as stated in court documents.
He had also broken Colorado laws when he hunted a bobcat in January, slingshotting it out of a tree and watching his dogs attack it, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors claim that using a slingshot and dogs is illegal under state law. Montgomery was issued a citation and was charged with two offenses for the unlawful taking of the bobcat. He has a hearing in that case on May 19, 2021.
CBS 4 Denver reported the court was supposed to agree on new conditions for Montgomery's release, including 24-hour house arrest and GPS monitoring. The site also stated that Montgomery operates Pmonte Outdoors, a hunting guide company. The business website claims that he has been involved in hunting and guiding in Colorado since 2001.
The CPW revealed that Montgomery and a friend both shot the mountain lion twice. Montgomery may face state charges of Illegal Possession of Wildlife and Possession of a Weapon by a Previous Offender. It is a crime to do the latter. A CPW spokesperson declined to comment on the event, but told CBS4 that the day Montgomery shot the cat, March 3, was the last day of the 2020-21 mountain lion hunting season.
“Montgomery has no respect for the Court’s orders, just like he had no respect for law enforcement at the Capitol on January 6,” the prosecutors’ motion concluded. “Instead of peacefully protesting, he tried to grab a 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. After the officer regained control of his baton, Montgomery stood up, and held up his two middle fingers at the officer.”
He was charged with assaulting a Metropolitan Police Department officer, engaging in physical activity, unlawfully disrupting the Capitol and Senate meeting, obstructing an official action, and disorderly and offensive behavior after being arrested in Littleton, Colorado on January 17 for allegedly taking part in the Capitol riots.
Montgomery was identified by investigators using Facebook photographs that allegedly showed him inside the Capitol, according to the Washington Post. Someone told him he’d been reported to the FBI. “I’m not a scared cat or running from anything,” Montgomery wrote back, the Post said citing court records. “I didn’t storm the castle violently. My group was let in peacefully by the police we were talking to with respect.”