8 South Georgians among 27 Georgians Involved With 2021 Capitol Breach
By Carol A. Gasser Moore
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Bruno Joseph Cua (20) of Milton is the most recent South Georgian to be found guilty in the District of Columbia of felony charges for his actions during the January 6, 2021, Capitol breach. Cua is the youngest of the 27 Georgians that were involved. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election.
As readers recall, Congress attempted to certify the 2020 presidential election results on January 6, 2021. At the same time hundreds of rioters pushed themselves past staff, visitors, police and barricades to take over the U.S. Capitol building.
Federal investigations by the FBI and Department of Justice lead to more than two dozen Georgians being arrested and charged in connection to the insurrection. So far convictions have carried sentences between three (3) years and ten (10) months and twenty-one (21) days in jail.
In addition to Cua, other South Georgians involved with the 2021 Capitol Breach include the following:
Dominic Box of Savannah. Box was arrested by federal officials when evidence from several social media accounts, including a Facebook live stream by Box, placed him at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6. He has been charged with illegally entering the building and violent or disorderly conduct in the building.
William Calhoun Jr. (57) of Americus whose bench trial began February 27. Calhoun’s use of social media is how FBI was alerted to his involvement. A concerned citizen is said to have called and was able to provide the information he shared on Facebook, Twitter, and Parler. Calhoun is said to have bragged in a post that he was among “the first of us who got upstairs kicked in Nancy Pelosi’s office door and pushed down the hall toward her inner sanctum” and that if the Speaker were around, she “probably would have been torn into little pieces.”
Michael Shane Daughtry (Baker County) was sentenced to 2 months of home detention, 36 months of probation, a restitution fine of $500 and 60 hours of community service. Federal prosecutors detail Daughtry being at the Capitol building on January 6, forcing his way past barricades, claiming he tore down fencing and reaching the Capitol door, “but ‘had to back off’ when law enforcement officers shot him with rubber bullets.”
Charles Hand and Mandy Robinson-Hand (Taylor County) each face up to 6 months in prison, 5 years on probation, and a $5,000 fine. The Georgia couple was arrested in connection with the riots at the U.S. Capitol, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Investigators say one was wearing a University of Georgia hat during the chaos. Video footage shows the two inside the U.S. Capitol. Investigators have said that an unnamed witness were shown on the tape. Hand appeared to be wearing a red UGA hat with the team’s emblem according to photos.
Joseph Hutchinson III (Albany) is scheduled for trial on March 6. Hutchinson and several co-conspirators gathered on the west side of the Capitol. He is said t have grabbed a fence and pulled it back to give rioters access to a line of police officers. Hutchinson is accused of then charging the line of officers and throwing punches, kicking the line of officers, punching an officer who stumbled and grabbing the sleeve of another officer before throwing them out of his way.
Brian Ulrich (Guyton) has been charged with sedition. Investigators allege he is a member of the Oath Keepers, a far-right anti-government militia. Investigators have indicated that as early as December 2020, Ulrich messaged online with other defendants to make plans to be at the Capitol on January 6. Records detail Ulrich telling others to bring guns and ammo. He is quoted as saying, “I will be the guy running around with the budget A.R.” According to the DOJ, around 2:30 p.m. on January 6, Ulrich and others drove golf carts toward the Capitol building and swerved around law enforcement vehicles. Ulrich is accused of having “aggressively berated and taunted law enforcement officers in riot gear guarding the perimeter of the Capitol near the east side of the building.” It appears that at “3:21 p.m, Ulrich entered the east side rotunda doors. He exited at 3:33 p.m. through the same doors, according to the indictment.” No sentencing date has been set, but Ulrich faces up to 40 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $500,000, and 6 years of supervised release after entering a guilty plea for the charges of Seditious Conspiracy and Obstruction of an Official Proceeding.
More than 985 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol in the 25 months since Jan. 6, 2021. Approximately 319 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement and 27 of those are from Georgia. The investigation remains ongoing.
The public should know that over a dozen videos and hundreds of photos were captured from the attack. Those videos and photos were posted by the FBI online. Anyone with information about someone involved in the attack or any information is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov/.
