Three more South Carolinians charged in Jan. 6 Capitol riots, bringing total to 19

Three more South Carolinians have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, according to court records filed in U.S. District Court.

In total, 19 people from the Palmetto State face charges from the storming of the Capitol.

William John Wyatt Gallman, 38, and Joei “Josie” Gallman, 42, a married couple who live in Fountain Inn, were taken into custody and arraigned before Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey in Greenville on Sept. 27. They were released the same day on $25,000 bond.

Alan Scott Culbertson, 59, of Laurens, was charged along with the Gallmans in a criminal complaint in connection with the Capitol storming but he has not yet been formally arraigned, according to court records and sources with the U.S. Attorney’s office. He will have a hearing and bond set at a later, undetermined date, sources said.

Court records did not explain why Culbertson was not arraigned and did not have his bond set at the same time as the Gallmans.

The Gallmans and Culbertson were in Washington together on Jan. 6, 2021, and entered the Capitol building as a group, an affidavit in their case said.

The three are charged with misdemeanors: entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and parading or demonstrating in a restricted building.

Evidence against the three includes “many images” taken from videos and photographs both inside and outside the Capitol building on that day, an affidavit in the case asserts. Police body cameras and government surveillance cameras also shows the three, the affidavit says.

The Gallmans and Culbertson were all supporters of former President Donald Trump and attended his rally before the Capitol storming. All wore Trump hats, according to photographs of them taken at the Capitol.

At that rally, Trump falsely told thousands of supporters that Democrats stole the November 2020 election. Trump urged rally-goers to go to the Capitol to “stop the steal” — a reference to Congress certifying the electoral college vote, which current President Joe Biden won 306-232. Thousands of Trump supporters then converged on the Capitol.

The Gallmans entered the Capitol building about 2:20 pm on Jan. 6, about 20 minutes after the first rioters began smashing windows and forcing their way in, the affidavit says. Culberson entered behind them.

About that time, in different parts of the Capitol, members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, and former Vice President Mike Pence, were being instructed to evacuate the chambers, the affidavit says.

“The Gallmans and Culbertson proceeded to travel throughout the U.S. Capitol building,” walking through the Rotunda and Statuary Hall, among other areas, the affidavit says.

They spent about 25 minutes inside the Capitol and then exited, the affidavit says.

In subsequent interviews with law enforcement agents, the Gallmans and Culbertson freely admitted that they were the people in the images taken that day, the affidavit says.

The Gallmans are represented by federal public defender Lora Collins Blanchard. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maxwell Cauthen III is prosecuting the case. Culbertson does not yet have a lawyer.

Under their bond agreement, the Gallmans cannot have contact with Culbertson.

All those arrested in South Carolina and other states for Jan. 6 Capitol riot defenses are normally transferred to federal court in the District of Columbia, where the alleged offenses took place. So far, more than 880 people from across the nation have been arrested in what is called the largest ever Department of Justice investigation in history.

Nine South Carolinians have so far pleaded guilty to offenses in the Jan. 6 riots. Sentences against seven have ranged from 44 months in prison to home detention and probation. Two who have pleaded guilty are awaiting sentencing.

Two other South Carolinians — Citadel cadet Elias Irizarry and Charleston area resident Chadwick Clifton — have hearings scheduled later this month at which they may plead guilty, according to court records. One man, Derek Gunby, has said he wants a trial. Charges against the others are pending.

Several plots were in motion on Jan. 6, 2021, to stop Pence from tallying the electoral votes, according to the U.S. House of Representatives committee investigating Jan. 6. The committee holds its next public session at 1 p.m. Thursday.