CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The FBI and prosecutors with the U.S. Department of Justice are not slowing down their effort to track the hundreds of people believed to be involved in the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol.
In the month of May alone, seven North and South Carolina residents have faced new charges for their alleged involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot.
Also this month, several Carolinians with cases from the federal government for their alleged participation in the attack have pleaded guilty.
Both aspects highlight the DOJ's methodical, though sometimes, slow process of tracking and prosecuting Capitol rioters.
Below are the newest cases from North and South Carolina.
Robinson Family
The family of five, including a minor, from the Fort Mill area traveled from South Carolina to Washington, D.C. and went with the crowd inside the capitol on Jan. 6, prosecutors wrote in charging documents.
Four family members, including a father, Linwood Robinson Sr., his two sons Benjamin and Linwood Robinson II, and daughter-in-law Brittany Robinson, were all charged and arrested in mid-May.
The Robinsons, according to documents, went inside the capitol that day. The family was part of a crowd of rioters who broke glass windows leading to the House Chamber, according to investigators.
Officials said they were also in the crowd when rioter Ashli Babbitt climbed through the broken window and was shot.
Charleston Neighbors
Chadwick Clifton and his neighbor, David Johnston, allegedly participated in the capitol attack. A former co-worker of Clifton's tipped off FBI investigators to Clifton's alleged involvement and showed law enforcement videos Clifton took from inside the building that day.
Johnston, prosecutors allege, is seen walking alongside Clifton in one of the videos.
In the video, Clifton is heard saying, "Look at where we are, look at where we going" and "Exciting times are coming," according to charging documents.
After the attack, Clifton allegedly sent Jewel Clifton a Facebook message, saying, "....We are in a war and 95% of the people don't even know it. When I went to DC that was an experience of a lifetime. I'm sorry that I went inside a broken door where we could have potential he got in trouble but I was a patriot and I made sure that people didn't destroy things and picked up trash..."
Johnston and Clifton were both arrested in May.
David Geitzen
While scrolling through Reddit after the Jan. 6 attack, a former college classmate of David Geitzen's thought one of the subjects on the FBI wanted list was someone he knew.
A tip to the FBI led investigators to go through videos and pictures from the riot and positively identify the Sanford man as one of the people who punched officers' shields during the attack, according to charging documents.
Geitzen is seen wearing a helmet, goggles, and knee pads while at the capitol.
Investigators wrote, "Geitzen is seen consistently moving up and down the police line along the security gate barriers," at the beginning of the attack.
At one point, according to investigators, Geitzen grabbed and then punched an officer's shield. Geitzen then "appears to grab the officer by the throat or face mask," according to charging documents.
Geitzen never made it inside the capitol building during the attack.
When WCNC spoke to experts near the one-year anniversary of the violent attack, they said to expect to see more and more people arrested in the coming months.
"Everybody will be caught, absolutely," said Quentin Williams, a former FBI agent and prosecutor. "There's no doubt in my mind that those who are running, they can run for only so long. They're going to be caught."
According to an NBC News report in April, more than 775 defendants have been arrested.
More than 2,500 people made their way inside the Capitol, officials have estimated, and there are more than 350 individuals still listed on the FBI's Capitol Violence website who have not yet been arrested.
Wake Up Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with the team at Wake Up Charlotte.
SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Stitcher || TuneIn || Google Podcasts
All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere.
