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The Insurrectionist Dude Who Smoked Weed in the Capitol Is Staying in Jail
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While some judges have allowed arrested insurrectionists to vacation in Mexico’s Mayan Riviera, a federal judge in Virginia is determined to keep the "Capitol Rotunda Doobie Smoker” behind bars.
Published on February 17, 2021

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On January 6, Eduardo Nicolas Alvear González stood against the wall of the Capitol Rotunda in a pair of American flag pants and a fanny pack, puffing a joint and thinking about freedom. 

No joke. A person with a camera asked him why he was choosing to smoke cannabis in the Capitol, while violence and chaos swirled around him. His answer: “Freedom.”

Imagine the irony, then, on Friday when a judge decided to keep González — a man who’s been dubbed the "Capitol Rotunda Doobie Smoker” — in jail for his participation in a failed coup.

Former President Donald Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives — and then acquitted by the Senate — for his role in instigating the riots that left one police officer and four protestors dead. 

González is just one of several rioters who were captured in the confirmed or suspected act of consuming cannabis during the storming of the nation’s Capitol building. He was arrested the Tuesday following the incident on misdemeanor charges of entering and remaining in a restricted building, and disorderly conduct. 

A Virginia federal magistrate judge determined that the Doobie Smoker needed to remain behind bars before being transferred back to Washington DC for the next hearing in his case. 

Not all of the would-be Capitol insurrectionists have had the law come down on them so definitively, however. Take Jenny Cudd, the Texas florist, for instance, who’s been charged with the same crimes as González. She was allowed to go on vacation to Mexico’s Mayan Riviera before her court date. Privilege has never wreaked so awful.

Assistant US Attorney Andrew Bosse said that González is a QAnon adherent who regularly posted Youtube videos focusing on conspiracy theory favorites, like deep state insanity and child sex trafficking rings operated by the liberal elite.

On the fateful day of the Capitol storming, Bosse continued, González offered weed to his fellow rioters. He was also captured saying, “Time to smoke weed in here!” on camera.

In yet another video that’s available to the general public, a cameraperson asks what strain González is smoking. He replies, “Pink Berry,” which is an indica-dominant flower strain that Leafly says is “ideal for consumers seeking relief from restlessness ... and cranky moods.” If that doesn’t sum up QAnon believers in the twilight of the Trump years, what does?

More than 200 people have now been charged in court for the events of Jan. 6, and apparently, González was not even the only lit rioter at the Capitol attack. 

Gregory Rubenacker posted Snapchat videos of himself vaping, and then appearing to smoke a joint in a final video where he declares, “Smoke out the Capitol, baby.” He was arrested on February 9. 

Another unidentified woman was captured by Agence France-Presse photographer Saul Loeb going through a computer and papers on the desk of one of Nancy Pelosi’s staffers — while vaping. Of course, it’s hard to tell what’s in her cart, but if you zoom in on the photo, an image of a cannabis leaf emerges on her phone’s outer finger holder, which is suggestively incriminating, at the very least.

We can all learn something from this — aside from not posting evidence of one’s self violating federal law. Smoking marijuana does not inherently make you a good person, it certainly doesn’t make you a smart person, and it no longer forecasts a damn thing about your political views — if it ever did.

Caitlin Donohue
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Caitlin Donohue is a Bay Area-raised, Mexico City-based cannabis writer and author of She Represents: 44 Women Who Are Changing Politics and the World. Her weekly show Crónica on Radio Nopal explores Mexican marijuana culture and politics in the prohibition era. Follow Caitlin on IG @byrdwatch.
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