Texas Man Accused of Trafficking Children in Bolivia Arrested for January 6th Insurrection

     Today is the day. On August 1st, 2023, Donald Trump was indicted for his role in the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. We won't know more until the indictment is unsealed, but this is the indictment America and the world has been waiting for. Still, the work that I do, that online sleuths and reporters do, and that countless others do to hold accountable the people who physically committed illegal acts at the Capitol on that dark day will and must continue.

     This next case is a perfect example of why. Michael Marroquin of Texas is the man behind the cell phone video that went viral soon after the events of that day, a man who shouted "traitors" at officers who had their weapons drawn in desperation as they tried to defend the citadel of democracy from a violent mob. The image below, taken from that cell phone video, is striking enough. The timeline also shows that many more of these cases will be filed. Marroquin was turned in by a loved one on January 7th, 2021, and interviewed by the FBI in March 2022. He wasn't arrested until July 2023.

     Marroquin faces a felony charge of obstruction of an official proceeding and numerous related misdemeanors for advancing past a police line to the doors of the House chamber, where Ashli Babbitt earned herself a bullet, and taunting law enforcement while shouting proudly that he was occupying the building. This is a fairly typical Capitol case in the charges and the facts, even if the image and his proximity to the death of a fellow insurrectionist adds a shock factor. What if I told you though, that his actions on January 6th were not the most horrible thing he has allegedly done?

     No. It all starts with a 37-year-old Catholic lay missionary Michael Marroquin in the mid-1990s. To those with a high opinion of the Church, this story goes dark very quickly. To those with a low opinion of the Church, this story goes exactly where you think it would go. I want to preface this with the statement that these were merely allegations made by a number of individuals and the government of Bolivia. The story appeared in The Austin Chronicle on August 31st, 2007, and, for full transparency, I will link it down below. Michael Marroquin is not a registered sex offender, and my search for answers is only beginning. However, I want to take great caution for legal and moral reasons with what I say. I don't think the allegations were made for no reason, but I also believe that labeling someone a sexual predator is worse than labeling them a murderer. 

     In the mid-1990s, Marroquin started a mission in Bolivia, a country in central South America. While things have improved in recent decades, Bolivia has historically been more isolated from the global economy than its neighbors, more skeptical of the West, and, partially as a result, much more impoverished. Ostensibly, this is why Marroquin chose this nation to start a mission. In 1997, he and his wife, Virginia, started a charity based in Round Rock (just outside of Austin) called Project Angels of Hope. Apparently, in 1989, Marroquin was diagnosed with lupus nephritis, a disease that can attack the central nervous system and often causes kidney failure and death. Given just six months to live, he turned to the Lord, and, when he went on to live not only for six months or years but, as we now know, live a full life, he apparently became more deeply faithful and decided to devote his life to helping others, according to an interview with The Catholic Spirit he did in 2006. The foundation helped approximately 130 children receive healthcare, education, and food while also providing dental care to their parents.

     I will also add the note that the author is Lutheran, so my familiarity with the structure and operations of the Catholic Church is relatively lacking. However, apparently Monsignor Tom Frank of the Austin Diocese recruited donors and personally contributed combined sums of over $100,000 annually to Marroquin's work. All seemed fine until early 2007. That's when workers and volunteers in the project began speaking out. His behavior seemed to grow increasingly irrational, with one worker writing in a letter that Marroquin was prone to "unpredictable behavior and rage." The allegations got worse, with complaints of alleged financial mismanagement and sexual harassment making their way to Monsignor Frank.

     In Christmas 2006, Marroquin seemed fine to Frank. He made one of his frequent visits to Austin to raise funds, and nothing seemed off about him. Did Marroquin suddenly veer into criminal conduct? If so, why? Were the allegations false? If so, what motivation would there be for making such claims, and how would one explain several claims being seemingly corroborated? Was Michael Marroquin leading a double life? Frank and the rest of Marroquin's U.S. backers seemed to believe the accusations, and in May 2007, they cut support for the project. Bolivian authorities and the international child protection organization DNI also seemed to believe that something very wrong was happening, and he was arrested days after his funding was cut on suspicion of sexually abusing two 15-year-old girls, of trafficking in children, and of illegally adopting the seven-year-old girl he and his wife shared. 

     Marroquin sat in a Bolivian jail cell for months and gave interviews denying the allegations and claiming it was the result of a conspiracy by local members of the project to remove him for their own benefit, allegations that wife Virginia apparently believed, as well. And that's where the story ends. Aside from that one article, Michael Marroquin seems to have disappeared from the face of the Earth until his arrest for his actions on January 6th, actions that seem to reflect the sort of behavior alleged by volunteers back in 2007, allegations of an angry, irrational man. I know it's the same Michael Marroquin. The chances of another Michael Marroquin who is also from Texas and is the same age as the Capitol suspect and who also happens to have the exact same facial hair and structure is impossible. So, what happened? I'll keep digging for answers, but the story itself is a shocking one regardless of the outcome.

Marroquin inside the Capitol on January 6th

The original article by Dan Selinger can be found here.