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Updated February 21

McCall Calhoun was known by many in Americus as a lawyer. He’s become known nation-wide as one of those arrested after entering the The Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Calhoun attended the speech President Donald Trump gave earlier that day with a friend. “After the speech was over, we started making our way toward The Capitol, and ended up going to the Robert H. Taft Memorial.” According to Calhoun, the The Capitol was wide open when he arrived. “There were these fencing pieces there, but there were pieces that had been removed, and there were no do not enter signs.”

However, it soon became clear that the crowd was not welcome. “We walked in, and it wasn’t too long before we got into that area that, just out of the blue, the police unloaded on the crowd with munitions, with like rubber bullets, tear gas grenades, flash bang grenades, all this stuff.” Calhoun claims the onslaught came without warning.

Calhoun described the crowd’s mood as turning angry after the tear gas, though he claims not to have done any damage. “I did not go anywhere near a police officer. I did not do any property damage. I didn’t kick in any door. I didn’t do anything.”

Calhoun stated he ended up at the base of the stairs at the West side of The Capitol, with a rush of people. “I knew I had to move or I was going to get trampled. I knew I was at the crossroads of history, and if I didn’t go in there and witness what was happening, I was going to regret it.”

He describes his actions in The Capitol as fairly innocuous. “I went in, walked through The Capitol for like 23 minutes or so, took pictures and stayed between the velvet ropes.”

However, Calhoun has a history of controversial political posts, at least one describing a much more heated situation. Calhoun is dismissive. “When I said we kicked in Pelosi’s door and that kind of thing, that doesn’t mean that I did it. I didn’t see anybody kick her door in. The door was open when I first saw it.”

Calhoun denies that what he posted could be considered violent. “If I had threatened anybody with violence, I would have been prosecuted for it.”

Calhoun pushes back against claims that the January 6 riot was an insurrection. “Insurrection is a specific federal crime, no one was charged with insurrection, because there wasn’t an insurrection.” He claims the purpose of those who entered The Capitol was to be heard. “My entire life, Washington has ignored us. And I think for that one time, that one moment in time, everybody there was going to make sure they listened to us. It wasn’t an overthrow of the government. It was like, no, you’re ignoring us, but you’re not going to ignore us today.”

Calhoun was specific about what the people that day wanted to accomplish. “To stop the stolen election.”

According to an Affidavit that was posted on the Department of Justice website, Calhoun made the following post: “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-then a swat team showed, and we retreated back to the rotunda and continued our hostile take over of the Capitol building.”

In addition to recounting his experiences at The Capitol, he shared what it was like receiving a pardon from Trump. “It was kind of anti-climactic, because I had already beat the case at the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.” The pardon did, however, remove remaining misdemeanor charges. Calhoun insists on his innocence. “I could have avoided going to prison if I had pled guilty to something I didn’t do.” He’s currently awaiting a decision from the Georgia Supreme Court on his reinstatement as a lawyer.

Calhoun claims that he and others arrested that day were pressured to implicate Trump. “If I had blamed President Trump for January 6, they would have let me go.” When asked who implied that would happen, he responded; “The judges, the lawyers, the prosecutors.” When asked specifically what they said, he replied; “It was made very clear to us.”

Calhoun commented further on the felony charge. “They charged me under the document shredding statute.” He considers it to have been a gross overreach. “They sent me to prison for a year for a fake crime that I did not commit and that was eventually vacated by the Court of Appeals.” He recalled the court’s decision. “The Supreme Court said, if somebody wasn’t tampering with documents on January 6, you can’t charge them under the document tampering statute.”

Calhoun views unaccountable administrative agencies, like the ones that tried to prosecute him, as a threat to the democratic process. Calhoun characterizes the Trump win as a triumph of democracy over bureaucracy. “What we’re seeing is the dismantling of the administrative state. This comes from 80 years of post-World War II prosperity.”

Calhoun has a history of political activism, having organized a second amendment rally at the Sumter County Courthouse. When asked if he had any further plans for political activism, Calhoun replied; “I’m going to do everything I can, within my power, to help President Trump fulfill his agenda.” However, he notes it may involve nothing more than him remaining in Americus and practicing law.

 

Correction: The original article stated that The White House was wide open, instead of The Capitol.