AMERICUS, Ga. — An Americus attorney who bragged on Facebook about storming the U.S. Capitol has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for his part in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
William Calhoun was found guilty on a number of charges related to the Capitol Riot back in March and, after his prison term is up, he will serve 24 months of supervised release and have to pay a restitution of $2,000, the DOJ said.
According to the DOJ, Calhoun was at the "Stop the Steal" rally that preceded the Capitol Riot and is quoted by the DOJ as saying "This is it. We're storming the Capitol" before he entered the Capitol through a broken Senate Wing door.
They say that he moved into the Capitol despite alarms ringing and smoke rising from police tear gas.
Calhoun then walked through the capitol, ran into a police line in the Capitol Crypt and walked from the line to the Rotunda multiple times during the course of the riot, the DOJ said.
He eventually left through the East side of the Capitol, the DOJ said, and there was video evidence showing Calhoun pounding on doors and walls as they walked past the offices of members of Congress.
In that video, the DOJ says he said the group was "looking for people," and he eventually worked his way to outside then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Office.
Calhoun, a criminal defense attorney, later posted on Facebook and other social media platforms boasting about his involvement in the Capitol Riot.
“Today the American People proved we have the power. We physically took control of the Capitol building in a hand-to-hand hostile takeover," Calhoun wrote. "We occupied the Capitol and shut down the Government – we shut down their stolen election shenanigans.”
Calhoun was arrested in Macon on Jan. 15, 2021.
He was found guilty on charges of 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.