Lovejoy Man's 'Violent Conduct' In Jan. 6 Attack Keeps Him Jailed

GEORGIA — A Lovejoy man was cited as one of the more violent members of the horde accused of sacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Jack Whitton, 30, is one of five individuals being charged together for their respective parts in the attack on Capitol Police officers. He is charged with civil disorder, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon, and an act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.

One officer died as a result of the incident in which hundreds broke into the Capitol seeking to stop Congress from certifying the Electoral College votes that would make Joe Biden president, defeating former President Donald Trump. The mob of attackers, including several Georgians, was led by Trump's false claims that his loss was the result of electoral fraud.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan ruled that Whitton would have to remain in federal custody until his trial.

“Mr. Whitton’s and his co-defendant’s conduct on January 6, 2021, was among some of the most violent conduct that took place that day, and the Court cannot ignore that reality when evaluating his character and the potential threat he continues to pose to the community,” Sullivan said in his 39-page ruling. “Nor has the D.C. Circuit said that Court must turn a blind eye to Mr. Whitton’s violent conduct when determining whether he poses a danger that warrants pretrial detention to safeguard the community.”

Federal prosecutors claimed that Whitton “was involved in some of the most violent assaults on law enforcement that occurred” on the day of the insurrection. “He himself was the instigator” of the attacks on officers at the Capitol’s lower western terrace, prosecutors said.

Among other things, Whitton is accused of slamming one of the Capitol officers to the ground and attacking several of them with a metal crutch, according to federal court documents. The court documents also accused him of dragging one officer face-first down the steps of the Capitol with one of his co-defendants “to the violent mob.”

Atlanta NBC affiliate 11Alive News outlined more of the accusations in an excerpt from court documents:

"He led the assault on Officer B.M., as he was the first to pull the officer away from his post and into the crowd. In the seconds that followed, the situation on the lower western terrace went from dangerous to potentially life-threatening for the MPD Officers: Officer B.M. sustained beatings from the angry mob surrounding him on the Capitol steps; Officer A.W. was then also dragged into the crowd, following the lead Mr. Whitton had set in dragging Officer B.M. down the steps; and Officer C.M. was also attacked as he tried to assist the other officers.

A judge in a lower court ruled that Whitton could be released until his trial. However, Sullivan said Whitton’s behavior suggested that he was dangerous.

“The nature and circumstances of Mr. Whitton’s offenses evince a clear disregard for the safety of others and law enforcement in particular,” Sullivan wrote.