Lawyer calls DC riot 'un-American' as 3rd Houstonian arrested
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The fallout continues following the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. as an FBI investigation is underway into the third person from the Houston area to be charged for their role in the chaos.
According to federal court, Wilmar Alvarado is facing five charges, including violent entry or disorderly conduct; assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees; and obstruction of an official proceeding.
READ MORE: 3rd person from Houston area arrested in US Capitol riot, FBI says
Two other men - Joshua Lollar, 39, of Spring, and former Houston police officer Tam Pham, 48 - are the two others from the area charged in connection with the insurrection that happened during the first attempt to certify Pres. Joe Biden's electoral win.
Jacob Monty, a Houston immigration attorney who was once on former Pres. Donald Trump's Hispanic Advisory Council, said the former president and his supporters are to blame for the riots.
"There are extremists on both sides," he said. "The blame lies squarely with Trump and his allies that perpetuated the lie that the election was stolen, that called for violence."
Monty said he used to be a Republican since he got to Houston, but that changed on Jan. 6 after seeing the violence at the U.S. Capitol and a majority of Texas Republican leaders dismissing the election results.
"That was absolutely the last straw," Monty said. "That was the final straw for me."
Monty said he decided to formally announce he was leaving the Republican party after receiving positive feedback from former party members, but he believes not enough people have taken a public stance.
"We have the greatest country on Earth, but we are in a crisis right now, and we should come together as a country, but absolutely, we should denounce the extremism and the violence that occurred earlier this month at the Capitol," he said. "That was un-American. That was terrorism, and we need more people to call it for what it was."
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