The latest Georgian arrested in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riot stumbled into the FBI investigation.
John David Ross Gould, 45 of Duluth, was arrested Tuesday and charged with five misdemeanors related to his alleged participation in the unrest.
According to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., Gould went to Washington with his co-worker Jonathan Davis Laurens. When the FBI arrested the 39-year-old Laurens, also of Duluth, on June 30, he reportedly told agents that he entered the Capitol with Gould. While Laurens was being questioned by FBI agents, Gould arrived at Laurens’ home to find out why he had not reported to work, the affidavit claims.
Gould left before agents knew who he was. But the FBI searched Laurens’ mobile phone and found calls from Gould as well as texts from Jan. 6. One photo sent to Laurens from Gould was reportedly taken from inside the Rayburn Reception Room in the Capitol that the FBI says shows Gould wearing a white cowboy hat and face mask reflected in a large, ornamental mirror.
According to the affidavit, the photo was accompanied by the text, “Can you see me in the mirror?”
Credit: U.S. Department of Justice
Credit: U.S. Department of Justice
Court records do not say where the two men worked. Agents reportedly confirmed with Gould’s boss that he had been dispatched to see why Laurens had not shown up for work, but they waited another eight and a half months to arrest him. Agents apparently used at least some of that time to search security camera footage and other video taken during the day to track Gould’s progress through the Capitol on Jan. 6. Photos contained in the affidavit show the person identified as Gould at several points inside the building, often alongside Laurens, who wore a distinctive, bright-orange stocking cap.
On March 10, the FBI staked out Gould’s workplace and took photos of him wearing the same jacket he wore to Washington during the riot, the affidavit states.
Credit: FBI photo
Credit: FBI photo
An initial court appearance has not been scheduled for Gould. Laurens, Gould’s co-worker, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in February and faces a possible six-month prison sentence when he is sentenced in June, although most defendants who have accepted such plea deals receive considerably less time.
Gould is the 22nd person with Georgia ties to be swept up in the continuing investigation in the Jan. 6 riot and the fifth in 2022. His charges include two separate charges of disorderly conduct, entering a restricted building, entering the floor of Congress, and illegally demonstrating it the Capitol.
In the 14 months since the riots, more than 775 people have been arrested and charged with offenses ranging from illegal demonstrations and trespassing to assaulting police, conspiracy and sedition. Nearly a third of those charged have pleaded guilty, and the deliberate pace of Gould’s arrest suggests that the Justice Department is not through running down possible culprits.
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