A Georgia criminal defense lawyer has been found guilty of several charges relating to his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol building. William McCall Calhoun Jr., 59, of Americus, Georgia, was found guilty of one felony and several misdemeanors after entering the Capitol building and pounding on doors with other rioters before making it outside the office of Nancy Pelosi, the then-Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The charges against Calhoun include obstruction of an official proceeding, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. Prosecutors presented evidence that Calhoun had posted a message on Facebook on Jan. 6, stating, “Today the American people proved we have the power. We physically took control of the Capitol building in a hostile hand-to-hand takeover. We occupied the Capitol and shut down the government—we shut down their stolen election shenanigans.”
The federal judge in Washington, D.C., U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich, presided over a two-day bench trial and found Calhoun guilty of all charges. The maximum penalty for the felony obstruction of an official proceeding is 20 years in prison.
Calhoun had previously rejected a plea deal that included the felony charge, stating that he had not committed a felony and only participated in a peaceful protest. In an interview with WUSA in January 2022, he said, “I know I didn’t commit a felony.” He had also previously told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in January 2021 that the people who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6 were “heroic” and “very patriotic” and that his actions amounted to trespassing.
Despite the guilty verdict, Calhoun is still licensed to practice law in Georgia with no public discipline on his record. A spokesperson for the Georgia bar had previously stated that the bar was waiting for charges against Calhoun to be resolved before taking action.
Calhoun’s lawyers declined to comment when contacted by Law360, and Calhoun did not respond to an ABA Journal email seeking comment.
The January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol building was a violent attempt by former President Donald Trump supporters to overturn the 2020 election results. The attack resulted in multiple injuries, several deaths, and extensive damage to the Capitol building. Since then, over 700 people have been charged with the attack, and dozens have been convicted and sentenced to prison.