Man Who Attacked US Capitol Wearing Gladiator Costume Pleads Guilty

A Cottonwood man who participated in the Jan. 6 raid on the U.S. Capitol wearing a gladiator costume meant to evoke Captain Moroni, a Book of Mormon figure, pleaded guilty Friday to a federal misdemeanor charge.
Nathan Wayne Entrekin admitted to marching, demonstrating or picketing the Capitol. He could face, under the plea agreement, a maximum sentence of six months in prison. Judgment was scheduled for April.
Entrekin was among at least 10 Arizonans who were charged for their actions in the January 6, 2021 raid on the US Capitol. The incursion caused an hour-long hiatus at a joint session of Congress called to certify President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election over former President Donald Trump.
Entrekin spent 13 minutes inside the U.S. Capitol that day in January 2021, according to court documents filed with the plea agreement. He entered the Capitol twice, according to the statement of offense.
The first time, Entrekin entered through a fire door near the Senate Congressman’s office, the document says. He left about four minutes later after law enforcement pushed him and other rioters outside, the document said.
He then spent about six minutes in a plaza recording video and taking photos, the document says, before re-entering the Capitol through another door.
Once back inside, Entrekin circled the first floor of the U.S. Capitol singing “USA” and “our home,” the document said. He left the Capitol for the second and final time about nine minutes later, the document says.
As part of his plea deal, Entrekin signed a document stating that he knew he did not have permission to enter or remain in the Capitol the two times he entered it.
An anonymous informant informed the FBI that Entrekin was in photographs taken during the US Capitol raid. The FBI spoke to Entrekin at his home in Cottonwood in February.
During this interview, he agreed to let FBI agents look at photos and videos that were on his phone. In some of these videos, Entrekin recounted his actions at the United States Capitol, sometimes addressing his mother, the apparently intended audience.
“I’m here, mom!” he said in a video, according to prosecutors.
Entrekin was arrested in July at his home in Cottonwood, a northern Arizona town south of Sedona in Arizona’s Verde Valley.
Entrekin was initially charged with a single count. But in November, prosecutors added four more counts.
He accepted the plea deal, denying all but the single charge of parading the Capitol building in late December.
Entrekin was one of at least two Arizonans who took part in the Capitol raid dressed in costume.
Jake Angeli, who became known as QAnon Shaman, walked through the Capitol and briefly took the US Senate dais while wearing a fur hat with horns, face paint and shirtless, showing off tattoos elaborated on his chest.
Angeli was sentenced to 41 months in prison in November.
Entrekin wore a gladiator costume, complete with a red cape, black studded bands, and a gold headband. Although the suit exposed her legs, Entrekin’s denim shorts were visible underneath.
Entrekin carried a pole to which was attached a white banner. The banner read: “In memory of our God, our religion, our freedom, our peace, our women and our children”.
This slogan, according to prosecutors, was Captain Moroni’s battle cry. In the Book of Mormon, prosecutors said, Moroni and his followers executed anyone who did not believe the phrase or favor democracy over tyranny.
Prosecutors said Entrekin posted on his Twitter page on Dec. 31, 2020, “Hey Patriots! Captain Moroni is coming to DC Jan. 6. Yay!”