Dominic Box, a Savannah-area activist and QAnon adherent whose election conspiracy theories led him to livestream his journey into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is now facing felony charges in newly filed court documents.
Federal authorities arrested Box in December 2022, charging him with multiple misdemeanors relating to his participation in the riot. A superseding indictment filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in Washington indicates prosecutors believe Box’s behavior during the riot was more serious than originally thought.
The new indictment charges Box with three felonies — obstruction of an official proceeding and two counts of civil disorder. If convicted, Box faces the prospect of years in prison, rather than the days or weeks in jail typically handed down in misdemeanor cases in the long-running Capitol riot investigation.
The indictment does not specifically spell out what prosecutors claim Box did while inside the Capitol. The two counts of civil disorder indicate Box obstructed or interfered with a police officer, but court records do not include details of the allegations.
There is little doubt the former car salesman took part in the riot. Not only did he livestream his approach to the Capitol to a Savannah activist group on Facebook, he talked about the day in a documentary about Jan. 6 on HBO, saying he was “proud to see the American spirit that was on display.”
Like many of the Jan. 6 defendants, the most powerful evidence against Box came from his own cellphone. Box used the phone to record himself inside the Capitol confronting a police officer who was urging the crowd to stay calm.
“We don’t need any more violence right now, all right? Calm down. We can stand right here and talk it out, OK?” the officer said.
According to court documents, Box ran up to the officer and said, “There’s no talking, there’s no (expletive) talking.”
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Box’s legal problems aren’t limited to Washington. Box has been in jail in Jacksonville, Florida, since August while he awaits trial on charges including a DUI. Box was arrested Aug. 16 when police reportedly found him passed out in the driver’s seat of his car. According to the police report, witnesses saw him driving the wrong way on a one-way street before he pulled into the parking lot of a Mexican restaurant and backed into a yellow metal pole.
Box also faces charges on a separate DUI charge in Nassau County, Florida.
Prior to the Jan. 6 riot, Box lived and worked in Savannah and was active in promoting QAnon-style conspiracy theories about alleged pedophile rings. In 2020, U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter attended a “Save the Children” rally organized by Box and other area activists. Carter later distanced himself from the group, saying he had been invited by a constituent concerned about child sex trafficking and that he had no affiliation with QAnon.
Box lost his job with a Savannah car dealer after the Jan. 6 riot. Court records indicate Box was living in Yulee, Florida, about five miles south of the Georgia-Florida line, at the time of his DUI arrest.
