FORT WORTH, Texas — A Grapevine, Texas man who was an employee of a private charter airline that operates from Fort Worth's Alliance Airport has acknowledged that he was involved last week in the insurrection on the U.S. Senate chamber floor.
Larry Brock Jr., 53, told The New Yorker that the presidential election in November, in which the Air Force veteran's preferred candidate, President Donald Trump, lost, was fraudulent, a position that is not supported by evidence.
A spokesperson for the airline, Hillwood Airways, said on Saturday that Brock is no longer affiliated or associated with the company. The company told the Dallas Morning News it was aware of photos of Brock's involvement in the Capitol mob, but company policy is not to disclose why someone is no longer employed. It's unclear how long Brock worked for the airline.
In The New Yorker interview, published on Saturday, Brock, who wore tactical gear and a helmet during the riot, said that he went to Washington to demonstrate peacefully. "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.
When he arrived at the Capitol, Brock said that he assumed he was welcome to enter the building, the article reported.
Brock told The New Yorker he stopped short of entering U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi's office suite.
In ITV News video, Brock appears to emerge from the suite, the article reported. Brock said that he wore tactical gear because he did not want to be injured and cited Black Lives Matter and Antifa "as potential aggressors." The FBI has said there is no evidence Antifa was involved in the riot.
Brock also was photographed carrying zip-tie handcuffs, which he told The New Yorker he had found on the ground and didn't intend to use.
Brock graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1989. He told The New Yorker that he served in Afghanistan and in Iraq.
Staff writer Bud Kennedy contributed to this report.
