Montana brothers, Joshua Calvin Hughes and Jerod Wade Hughes, were charged with connection to the January 6 riot at the United States Capitol in Washington, DC
On January 11, the Hughes brothers went to the Helena Police Department after seeing themselves in the news coverage of the riot and believed they were wanted by the FBI. The brothers received copies of the FBI “stay tuned” posters, and each man circulated a photo of himself. The brothers said they wanted to surrender.
Court documents say the surveillance video posted on social media confirms that the brothers were present and “actively participated in the riot”.
The brothers are seen on video joining other people climbing through a broken window on the Capitol, and were “among the first ten protesters to enter this location.” Once inside, Jerod and someone else kicked a door until the lock was broken so that other rioters could enter the building.
The Hughes brothers then joined a person named Douglas Austin Jensen, who was involved in a confrontation with Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman, who repeatedly ordered protesters to step back and leave the building. Court documents state that rioters continued to advance Officer Goodman in a “threatening” way, and that Jensen was the main aggressor, followed immediately by the Hughes brothers.
COURT DOCUMENTS
“The police reported that they were outnumbered to try to arrest the protesters, so instead they used their training to try to lessen the situation by talking to individuals in an attempt to calm them down,” the court document said. “Despite these efforts, the police were met with shouting and aggression. When analyzing a digital video recording of this altercation, protesters can be heard shouting ‘this is our home’, ‘this is our America’ and ‘we are here for the corrupt government’ ”.
After leaving that area, the brothers went to the plenary session of the United States Senate – which had been evacuated by that time – and sat in the senators’ chairs, opened wallets and reviewed the “sensitive material stored there”.
Among the charges the brothers are facing are obstruction of an official process, destruction of property and entry to the Capitol without authorization. We will update it as we get more information.
Henry Muntzer, a businessman in Dillon, was charged earlier this month in connection with the riot; Click here for more details.