Federal prosecutors have added felony charges to the Jan. 6 case of Dominic Box, a former Savannah car salesman accused of participating in the attack on the U.S. Capitol, who previously had been charged with only misdemeanors.
A new indictment filed Wednesday against Box includes three felony counts — one of obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress and two of civil disorder — in addition to the four misdemeanors to which Box has previously pleaded not guilty.
Amy Collins, Box’s new defense attorney, did not respond to GPB’s request for comment on the indictment, which was handed down by a grand jury in Washington, D.C.
In the federal justice system, felonies are offenses which may result in multiple years of prison, whereas misdemeanors are limited to one year behind bars.
Obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress is the most serious charge that Box now faces, as it is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. Civil disorder carries a maximum sentence of five years.
Court records indicate that Box, 34, had agreed last year to a deal offered by prosecutors — which would have seen him plead guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress — before he withdrew from the agreement.
John Machado, Box’s attorney at the time of the scrapped plea deal, wrote in a January court filing that his client withdrew after learning of Fischer v. United States, a pending Supreme Court case that could potentially invalidate such an obstruction charge for all Jan. 6 defendants.
In light of Fischer, which is scheduled for oral argument on April 16, the new indictment against Box of both obstruction and civil disorder could be seen as a “belt and suspenders” approach to prosecution — which has also been noted about former President Donald Trump’s federal election subversion case.
A phrase common among lawyers, “belt and suspenders” refers to a legal strategy in which prosecutors don different kinds of charges simultaneously, such that if one fails, the entire case does not fall to the ground.
In the case of Box, the two civil disorder counts would theoretically remain intact regardless of the outcome of Fischer, since the Supreme Court there is considering only the validity of obstruction charges.
As defined by federal law, civil disorder is distinct from disorderly conduct. Whereas the latter is a type of misdemeanor, the former is a felony — in Box’s indictment, an interference with a law enforcement officer that adversely affected a “federally protected function,” such as Congress’s certification of a presidential election.
The two civil disorder counts against Box correspond to his alleged conduct within two different parts of the Capitol building: the Crypt room and the east door to the Rotunda.
An arraignment is scheduled for March 19 in Washington, D.C.
This story comes to The Current GA through a reporting partnership with GPB News, a non-profit newsroom covering the state of Georgia.