Georgia man sentenced for role in Jan. 6 Capitol breach. Defendant struck cops with crutch

A Georgia man was sentenced to 57 months in prison Thursday for assaulting law enforcement officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.

Jack Wade Whitton, 33, of Locust Grove pleaded guilty in federal court in September 2022 to one count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon.

According to court documents, Whitton pulled a metal crutch from a crowd approaching a police line, raised it overhead, and thrust it repeatedly at police, striking law enforcement officers. Although an officer gained control of the crutch, Whitton continued fighting, grabbing at officers with his hands and kicking an officer lying on the ground.

Whitton then grabbed an officer’s baton and dragged the officer head-first and face-down into a crowd of rioters, where the officer was beaten.

Later that day, Whitton threw an object at a line of officers, then reached over a balustrade to throw a punch at them.

In the days following the riot, Whitton posted about his conduct at the Capitol on social media, expressing pride in his participation in the assaults.

He was arrested in Locust Grove in April 2021. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Atlanta and Washington field offices and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia assisted by the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Georgia.

Following the prison sentence, Whitton will have to serve 36 months of supervised release. He also has been ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.