Another North Georgia man has been arrested in the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riots. The latest person to be arrested from Georgia is a Duluth man, John David Ross Gould. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the 45-year-old man was arrested Tuesday and charged with five misdemeanors.
Authorities discovered Gould’s connection in the event after investigating another capitol rioter, Jonathan Davis Laurens of Duluth. The two men are reportedly co-workers. According to the investigation information released by the justice department, Laurens admitted to being at the capitol building with Gould.
Investigators were actually interviewing Laurens at his home on June 30, 2021 when Laurens received a text from Gould saying “where yat?” Moments later Gould arrived in person to check on why his co-worker had not showed up for work. This prompted authorities to further check communications between the two men.
When agents searched Laurens’ phone, they found multiple texts from Gould. One of those texts dated back to Jan. 6, 2021 with a photo of Gould standing in front of a mirror located inside the capitol building, with the accompanying text, “Can you see me in the mirror?” Gould can be seen in photos wearing a white cowboy hat and face mask reflected in the large, ornamental mirror of the Rayburn Reception Room at the Capitol.
Authorities did not arrest Gould right away. Once they discovered the evidence, they continued to investigate by reviewing capitol footage, specifically matching the clothing Gould was wearing in the text with photos from that Jan. 6 event. Gould entered the capitol crypt, the rotunda through Statuary Hall to the Statuary Hall Connector outside the House Chamber, where the crowd attempted to force their way into the House Chamber. He continued his way through other parts of the building, as well. Gould was wearing a cowboy hat that could visibly be seen in the photos.
Investigators were able to confirm that the person they met in Laurens’ home was the same person that could be seen in the photos. On March 10, investigators staked out Gould’s workplace, taking photos of him wearing the same jacket that he had on during the illegal entry of the capitol building.
His charges are as follows: Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building, Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building, Entering or Remaining on the Floor of Congress, Violent Entry and Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building, and Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building.
Laurens, Gould’s co-worker, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in February and faces a possible six-month prison sentence when he is sentenced in June, although most defendants who have accepted such plea deals receive considerably less time.
Gould is the 22nd person with Georgia ties to be swept up in the continuing investigation in the Jan. 6 riot and the fifth in 2022.
