A Georgia man who attacked Capitol Police on January 6 and told one “you’re gonna die tonight” has pleaded guilty to assaulting officers with a dangerous weapon.
Jack Wade Whitton, 32, of Locust Grove, Georgia, entered the plea to one of the more serious felony charges to date among the 870 defendants arrested in connection with the riot at the U.S. Capitol. His plea deal, if accepted by a federal judge, would carry either sentencing range from 63 to 78 months, or 78 to 93 months.
“Whitton was part of a mob that confronted law enforcement officers at the Archway leading into the Capitol Building from the Lower West Terrace,” according to a Department of Justice news release. After another rioter kicked an officer guarding the Capitol, Whitton jumped in.
“Whitton kicked at this officer, who was still on the ground. He then grabbed another MPD officer, first by his baton, then by the helmet and the neck of his ballistic vest. He pulled him down and started to drag the officer down a set of steps in a prone position. Others joined him in dragging this officer into the crowd, where other rioters beat the officer with weapons, including a flagpole and baton.”
As reported last year at Raw Story, “Whitton, allegedly told an officer, "You're going to die tonight," and later boasted in a text message that he had "fed him (an officer) to the people."
"Idk (I don't know) his status," Whitton wrote in the text message to a friend, referring to the officer. "And (I) don't care tbh (to be honest)."
According to court documents, the attack left one of the officers with head wounds that required staples to close. This was after rioters "ripped off his helmet, maced him, took his gas mask and MPD-issued cell phone, kicked him, struck him with poles, and stomped on him."
He used a metal crutch to beat one Capitol Police officer and kicked another. Afterward, he boasted of his bloody hands and that he “fed an officer to the people,” according to court documents.
