William McCall Calhoun Jr.—a Georgia lawyer who bragged online about kicking in the office door of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol—has been denied release from imprisonment because of his numerous Twitter, Facebook and Parler posts promising to execute Democratic leaders and followers.
Calhoun Jr. allegedly wrote on Facebook that he and the "mob" searched through Pelosi's "inner sanctum." He allegedly wrote, "The first of us who got upstairs kicked in Nancy Pelosi's office door and pushed down the hall towards her inner sanctum, the mob howling with rage. Crazy Nancy probably would have been torn into little pieces but she was nowhere to be seen."
He was arrested on January 15 and charged with entering a restricted building, violent or disorderly conduct and obstructing official proceedings of government, according to an FBI affidavit. His lawyer requested that he be allowed to undergo home confinement and GPS monitoring before his eventual trial, but U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles H. Weigle denied the request, citing his repeated and violent social media posts.
Calhoun Jr.'s posts allegedly spoke of taking "violent retribution against the media and the Democrats" and of his desire to see Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters "stacked up high" in "body bags." He once allegedly told a BLM supporter on Twitter, "You won't be laughing when patriots go door to door executing you commies." He also allegedly threatened any media members who poked fun at Donald Trump's daughter Tiffany Trump with "headshots," a style of execution that involves shooting someone in the head.
"God is on Trump's side," Calhoun Jr. allegedly wrote in one post. "God is not on the Democrats' side. And if patriots have to kill 60 million of these communists, it is God's will. Think ethnic cleansing but it's anti-communist cleansing." In other posts, he allegedly spoke of civil war, stating, "As part of the anti-communist counter-revolution, we've got to get serious about stopping them by force of arms."
In his decision denying Calhoun Jr.'s request for home detainment, Judge Weigle said, "He has been corrupted by, or seduced, by a dangerous and violent ideology that considers the United States to be in a state of civil war, that considers everyone who voted for a Democrat to be worthy of execution, that considers every government official and agent to be part of a 'deep state' who need to be opposed by so-called patriots." The legal news website Law and Crime reported Weigle's comments.
"Because of the corrupting and dangerous ideology that has poisoned this man's mind, I wouldn't trust him to do anything I told him to do," Weigle added. "He probably considers me scum who deserves a 'headshot.' So, no, I'm not gonna release him.... I have no comfort in sending a probation officer to your house to meet with you. I would be afraid for their life.... with what you've said and what you've done."
Calhoun Jr. admitted to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he had trespassed into the Capitol, but said, "I did it for the love of my country." He and his attorney have claimed that his past social media posts are merely "ornery... heated political rhetoric" that was "hyperbolic" and not to be taken literally.
Calhoun Jr. has also called the mob's actions at the Capitol a form of "civil disobedience," adding, "Anyone who claims it was anything other than civil disobedience was not there, and they did not see it and they do not know."
Calhoun Jr. now faces over 20 years in prison as well as possible additional charges as a grand jury decides whether there's enough evidence to charge him with tampering with an official proceeding by trying to obstruct the counting of electoral college votes.
Calhoun Jr. has since deleted all of his social media accounts. His defense attorney Timothy Saviello has said there is no evidence linking his client to violent attacks on others.
The insurrection at the Capitol left five dead, including a Capitol police officer. Dozens of other officers were also injured in the insurrection, including one that was beaten by an American flag.
A Reuters photojournalist has said they heard insurrectionists inside the Capitol actively hunting for Vice President Pence with the goal of killing him for refusing to oppose Biden's election victory. At another point, rioters seized the gun of Capitol police officer Michael Fanone and encouraged its new owner to kill him with it.
Insurrectionists also shattered windows while trying to access congressional chambers, smeared feces in the hallway and stole computer equipment, potentially constituting a national security breach.
Newsweek contacted Saviello for comment. Saviello declined to comment.
Correction (1/21/2021, 6:45 p.m.): This article initially misattributed one of Calhoun Jr.'s quotes to Judge Weigle. Newsweek regrets the error.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
