GEORGIA, USA — A Georgia couple was arrested in connection with the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Investigators say one of them was wearing a University of Georgia hat during the chaos.
After looking at video recorded from that day, DOJ said they have footage of the two inside the U.S. Capitol. Investigators said they were also able to confirm with an independent, unnamed witness, who knows the couple, that Chuck Hand and his wife Mandy Michelle Robinson-Hand were shown on the tape. Hand appeared to be wearing a red UGA hat with the team's emblem, photos show.
The video of the couple was captured by the U.S. Capitol surveillance and a film company in their documentary footage, records show. Court documents say DOJ took that information and cross-referenced it with the couple's driver's license photos.
Further evidence shows Hand and Hand-Robinson's phones also show them in the area on the day of the insurrection, investigators said.
An unnamed tipster also told DOJ that Hand posted on his Facebook what he saw on Jan. 6, calling himself "an eye witness of the storming of the United States Capitol on 1-6-2021" and said he was there from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Hand went on to say in the post that the “tear gas, rubber bullets, mace and etc wasn’t stopping them and thousands upon thousands of angry Americans marching onto the Capitol to protest and stop the certification of what I personally believe to be an election stolen from the American people.”
Photo below: Facebook post from Chuck Hand's page
Additionally, the tipster provided remarks that Hand-Robinson posted to Facebook that day posts that read “We’re in the capital [sic]. Taking our house back,” and “We’ve Been tear gassed etc," records show. The posts have since been taken down, according to the DOJ.
The DOJ complaints about Hand and Hand Robinson are:
- Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds
- Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds
- Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building
- Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building
