On behalf of my family, I thank you for the opportunity to introduce ourselves. My name is Tom Munn and six members of my family participated in the protest at the Capitol Building, on January 6, 2021. Including myself, my wife and four of our children. Our story, regarding the traumatic chain of events of that day, mirror most of the others you have seen, so I will forgo the specific details.

Before beginning, I feel I should tell you about my mindset and my core belief system in our country and our Constitution. Growing up in the 1970’s, three of the posters that I had on my bedroom wall, were the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, and the U.S Constitution, which had an inset of the Bill of Rights.

In high school I enlisted in the military and went to basic training during the summer between my Junior and Senior years. Then departing for advanced training immediately following my graduation, in 1986. My wife and I met in high school and were married in October of 1988, by the U.S. Army at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. In September of 1990 my unit was mobilized for the Gulf War, (Desert Storm), being deployed to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. After returning home the following summer, my wife and I began our family and now have eight children together.

Throughout my children’s lives, they listened to me endlessly preach about the importance of the U.S Constitution, how historically unique it is and that it was second in importance, only to the Bible. Then graphically detailing the ultimate price that had been paid, by so many, to protect it and us.

I often specifically focused on the 1st Amendment. That this “right” was so important, that it was more of a responsibility than a right. That no document in history had ever granted “the people”, such a fundamental right to life and freedom. With the events that were unfolding, for the first time, I felt compelled to let my voice be heard and obligated to demonstrate to my children, the vital importance of doing so.

Following the presidential election on November 3, 2020, what I was witnessing, was a frustrating display of political maneuvering, to obstruct the verification of the vote from happening. By December 2020, I learned of the rally and speech, by the current President, being organized for Jan 6, 2021, to protest the certification of the election results, until a verification audit could be performed. This was supported by eight U.S. senators, one from Texas, and 139 U.S. congressmen, 16 from Texas, who were calling for a delay of the vote certification.

Having only one vehicle, following the loss of our primary vehicle in October 2020, we decided to only take our two high school “seniors”, as a “senior trip” to Washington D.C., along with two of our older children.

Following the President’s speech, we had hoped to be able to stand on the Capitol steps. As we neared the steps, the mood of the assembled crowd was very upbeat and patriotic. I heard chants of “delay the vote”, “stop the steal” and “Trump won” and “USA, USA”. The crowd then had begun singing “America the Beautiful”, when everything suddenly became very “dark”. I do not know how else to describe it. Eventually resulting in our entry of the Capitol Building.

Despite having remained peaceful, on July 13, 2021, we experienced a predawn FBI raid at our home in Borger, Texas. Complete with body armor, Kevlar helmets, M4’s and a battering ram.

After being initially stood off, by our three German Sheppard’s, we peacefully submitted and five out of the six of us were then led away, handcuffed, and taken into custody by the FBI, while our other four daughters watched. The sixth member of our family group, who was 17½ at the time, was not arrested or charged.

We have lost friends, neighbors and now the ability to sustain ourselves. My wife and my oldest daughter, travelling nurses, have had their work availability cut by over 75%, as facilities refuse to allow them to work. We have notified our mortgage company that we are not able to make our current payment.

Having no other “real” recourse, we accepted the “plea deal” offered by the prosecution. All of us are scheduled to be sentenced on October 12th, 2022. The judge in our case, has ordered that we appear in person in Washington D.C. for sentencing. With having no financial or physical means to make such a journey, we are greatly fearing being held in contempt of court.

Thank you for your time, interest, and willingness to listen.

Tom Munn and the Munn Family- Dawn, Kristi, Kayli and Josh

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