Savannah Jan. 6 defendant admits involvement in Capitol attack, ahead of scheduled June bench trial

Caption

In this frame from U.S. Capitol surveillance video, the man in the yellow circle is identified by the FBI as Dominic Box, entering through the Senate wing door of the building on Jan. 6, 2021.

Credit: FBI

A former Georgia man charged in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection has admitted to his involvement in the attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump who violently sought to overturn Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election.

Dominic Box, who at the time of the attack was a car salesman in Savannah, filed a legal motion Tuesday in which he made a sprawling admission to federal prosecutors' allegations in their seven-count indictment of him, including the most serious felony charge faced by the 34-year-old: obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress.

The motion, which was filed jointly with prosecutors, is not technically a plea bargain but rather a request for a “stipulated trial,” in which both sides agree beforehand to certain facts while also preserving the defendant's right to appeal.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly granted the motion, in which Box and prosecutors also requested that the case be decided by Kollar-Kotelly herself rather than a jury, in order to avoid “the time and effort” of a traditional trial.

Among other acts, Box admitted that he “joined a group of individuals who pushed through officers at the entryway to the [U.S. Capitol] Crypt, while he shouted, ‘Don’t [expletive] tread on us!’” according to the motion. “Then, he approached up to an officer who was asking the crowd to ‘talk it out,’ and shouted at that officer, ‘There’s no talking! There’s no [expletive] talking!’ He was then a part of the group that overwhelmed the Crypt officers.”

Kollar-Kotelly has scheduled Box's stipulated bench trial for June 17 in Washington, D.C.

A judicial appointee of President Bill Clinton, Kollar-Kotelly has overseen several Jan. 6-related cases, where she has raised concerns about the state of democracy in the U.S.

“We have an election coming,” she said during a recent sentencing of an Ohio man who assaulted law enforcement officers during the Capitol attack. “Unless democracy is protected, it will be destroyed.”

If Kollar-Kotelly finds Box guilty, she may consider a sentence reduction which was recommended by prosecutors on the condition that he, as they stipulated, “clearly demonstrate[s] acceptance of responsibility,” and in part for his decision to forego a jury trial.

Box filed a separate motion Thursday seeking to dismiss his most serious charge, citing an ongoing Supreme Court case which could invalidate obstruction convictions for Jan. 6 defendants.