Montana brothers Joshua Calvin Hughes and Jerod Wade Hughes have been charged in connection with the January 6th riot at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
On January 11th, the Hughes brothers went to the Helena Police Department after seeing themselves on news coverage of the riot, and believed that they were wanted by the FBI. The brothers were presented with copies of the FBI "be on the look-out" posters, and each man circled a picture of himself. The brothers said that they wanted to turn themselves in.
The court documents state that surveillance video and video posted on social media confirms that the brothers were present and "actively participated in the riot."
The brothers are seen on video joining other people climbing through a shattered window into the Capitol, and were "among the first ten rioters to enter at this location." Once inside, Jerod and another person kicked a door until the lock broke so that other rioters could get inside the building.
The Hughes brothers then joined up with a person named Douglas Austin Jensen, who was engaged in a confrontation with Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who repeatedly ordered the rioters to back up and leave the building. The court documents state that the rioters kept advancing on Officer Goodman in a "menacing manner," and that Jensen was the primary aggressor, followed immediately by the Hughes brothers.
“Officers reported that they were too far outnumbered to attempt to arrest the rioters, so instead they used their training to try and de-escalate the situation by talking with individuals in an attempt to calm them down,” the court document states. “Notwithstanding these efforts, officers were met with shouting and aggression. In reviewing a digital video recording of this altercation, rioters can be heard shouting ‘this is our house,’ ‘this is our America,’ and ‘we’re here for the corrupt government.’”
After leaving that area, the brothers went to the U.S. Senate floor - which had been evacuated by this point - and sat in Senators' chairs, opened desks, and reviewed "sensitive material stored therein."
Among the charges the brothers are facing are obstruction of an official proceeding, destruction of property, and entering in the Capitol without authorization. We will update you as we get more information.
Henry Muntzer, a business owner in Dillon, was charged earlier this month in connection with the riot; click here for details.
