Lawyer pleads guilty to involvement in Capitol riot after he was identified through TikTok videos
Department of Justice
- A disgraced South Carolina attorney has pleaded guilty to charges related to the storming of the Capitol.
- David Johnston was identified from TikTok and Facebook live videos.
- He was charged alongside his neighbor Chad Clifton, with whom he traveled to Washington DC.
A South Carolina attorney has pleaded guilty to charges related to storming the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
David Johnston, 66, from Summerville, South Carolina, pleaded guilty to Disorderly Conduct on Capitol Grounds, which carries a maximum sentence of six months in prison, according to court documents.
The documents read that Johnston entered the Capitol after traveling to DC to attend a rally for former President Donald Trump.
The court presented a number of photos and screenshots from videos of Johnston in the Capitol building, wearing a Trump hat.
According to South Carolina news site The State, Johnston was a lawyer at the George Sink personal injury law firm but was fired after his arrest in May 2022.
Department of Justice
The charges against Johnston have been made in conjunction with those against Chad Clifton, Johnston's neighbor. The two stormed the Capitol after traveling to Washington DC together.
However, Clifton is still considering a plea deal offered by the prosecutor, reported The Post and Courier.
In days after his arrest in May, Johnston was fired by his law firm and his license to practice law in South Carolina was suspended by the state's supreme court.
The pair were identified after two anonymous witnesses identified them from their TikTok and Facebook live videos, which Clifton captioned "Storming the capital building" and "Yes, this was right after storming the Capitol," court documents read.
A search warrant was issued to investigate Clifton's Facebook account, in which it was found he described his involvement in the storm as a "great day."
CCTV footage from the Capitol also shows Johnston and Clifton there, who could be identified through corroboration with their social media documentation.