A Colorado hunting guide charged with participating in the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol will likely be placed on 24/7 house arrest — instead of remaining free while his case is pending — because he violated the conditions of his release by hunting and killing a mountain lion.
Patrick Montgomery, a Littleton hunting guide, shot a mountain lion during a hunt in Douglas County on March 31, even though he was ordered not to possess any guns while the federal charges against him are pending, according to motions filed by prosecutors last week.
Montgomery, 48, is accused of kicking a Metropolitan police officer in the chest and wrestling with the officer to try to take the officer’s baton during the Jan. 6 attack in Washington, D.C., according to court records. He was indicted on 10 charges in April, including assaulting a police officer, engaging in physical violence and illegally entering the Capitol building.
Montgomery was allowed to remain free while the case was pending as long as he followed conditions set by a judge, including that he did not possess any guns — but he nevertheless continued to go hunting, according to court records.
“Montgomery has no respect for the Court’s orders, just like he had no respect for law enforcement at the Capitol on January 6,” reads a motion filed by prosecutors. “…Montgomery has flagrantly violated the law and has shown by his actions that he is unlikely to abide by Court orders.”
On March 31, Montgomery killed the mountain lion during a hunt, using his .357 pistol, according to court records. He then reported the kill to Colorado Parks and Wildlife as required by state regulations.
When a mountain lion is killed, wildlife officials check that the hunter is properly licensed, pull a tooth from the mountain lion to determine its age, and perform other procedures, including running a background check on the hunter.
That check showed Montgomery is a convicted felon who has not been allowed to possess a gun since 1996, when he pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery in New Mexico, according to court records.
Montgomery was in that case sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to undergo counseling to “address his anti-social behavior,” according to a sentencing order filed at the time. That conviction prohibited him from having guns in the future, a prohibition Montgomery ignored as he went on to become a professional hunting guide, federal prosecutors said in their motions.
Montgomery told authorities he believed the plea agreement he signed in that case allowed him to keep his guns, but investigators could find no record of such an exception, according to a motion filed in the federal case.
Prosecutors initially asked that Montgomery be taken into custody because he violated the terms of his release, but amended that request to 24/7 house arrest and GPS monitoring after negotiations with Montgomery’s defense attorneys. Prosecutors also ask that Montgomery be prohibited from participating in any “hunting-related activities,” according to the motion.
A federal judge is expected to impose that agreed-on penalty during a hearing Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Montgomery could not be reached for comment Sunday.
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