Montana Brothers Who Chased Black Officer In Capitol Building During Riot Indicted on Federal Charges
Two Montana brothers who were among the first to enter the Capitol building during the Jan. 6 riot and can be seen on video footage chasing a Black officer up a flight of stairs were charged Thursday with several federal offenses.
Joshua Calvin Hughes and Jerod Wade Hughes were two of the first 10 rioters to breach the Capitol building earlier this month as Congress certified Electoral College vote, the FBI said in charging documents.
The pair climbed through a broken window helped to kick a door down to allow more rioters to enter.
The Hugheses were charged Jan. 28 with several offenses, including obstructing an official proceeding, obstructing or interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder, entering the Capitol without authorization and with an intention to disrupt official business, and destroying property.
Along with a primary aggressor, the brothers chased Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman up the stairs as they refused to comply with the officer’s repeated commands to leave the building and advanced in “a menacing manner.”
“Officers reported that they were too far outnumbered to attempt to arrest the rioters, so instead they used their training to try and de-escalate the situation by talking with individuals in an attempt to calm them down,” the court document states. “Notwithstanding these efforts, officers were met with shouting and aggression. In reviewing a digital video recording of this altercation, rioters can be heard shouting ‘this is our house,’ ‘this is our America,’ and ‘we’re here for the corrupt government.’”
Goodman has been hailed a hero for baiting the mob away from the Senate floor, where members of Congress had not yet fully evacuated.
Goodman was given a hero’s welcome at the presidential inauguration earlier this month and escorted Vice President Kamala Harris to the inaugural stage.
The Hughes brothers eventually made it to the Senate floor after it had been evacuated, where they sat in lawmakers’ chairs, opened their desks and viewed sensitive material. .
The brothers turned themselves in to the Helena Police Department on Jan. 11 because they had seem themselves on TV and thought they were wanted by the FBI.
The FBI did not comment on whether the brothers are currently in custody, and court records listed no court dates.
At least 164 people face federal charges for their role in the Jan. 6 insurrection.