Holly MatkinWashington, DC – A former Florida police officer and U.S. Marine Corps veteran is facing federal charges for allegedly participating in the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6.
According to court documents filed on Feb. 21, Nicholas Lentz, 41, has been charged with disruptive and disorderly conduct and illegally being in a restricted building, the Associated Press reported.
Investigators said the military veteran, who served both in Iraq and Afghanistan, attended then-President Donald Trump’s speech on Jan. 6 before he headed over to the Capitol building.
“America has spoken,” Lentz said in a since-deleted Facebook video recorded inside the Capitol building, according to the Miami Herald. “You cannot stop millions of people. You cannot stop it. You can’t. It’s impossible.”
“America has a voice, we give them the power, we give the power, the people give the power,” he said. “And we’re here to take it back.”
“We’re not here to hurt any cops of course,” Lentz said in the video, according to the Associated Press. “I love my boys in blue, but this is overwhelming for them. There’s no way they can hold us back.”
Lentz served the St. Lucie County Police Department from 2014 until 2016, the Associated Press reported.
He then went to work for the North Miami Beach Police Department, where he remained until August of 2020.
North Miami Beach Mayor Anthony DeFillipo was among those who identified the former police officer through his Facebook posts, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) affidavit.
Lentz allegedly admitted to having been at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 when FBI agents spoke with him at his Boynton Beach home shortly before the charges were filed, the Associated Press reported.
He is out on $25,000 bail and is slated to appear in court in Washington, DC on Feb. 26.
