Lawyer Discipline
Despite pardon, court says disbarment might be appropriate for lawyer who stormed the Capitol
Police attempting to hold Jan. 6, 2021, rioters at the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Public reprimand was not enough punishment for a lawyer who admitted to entering the U.S. Capitol Building with rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, the Georgia Supreme Court recently found.
The Jan. 21 opinion involves W. McCall Calhoun Jr., and rejects the State Bar of Georgia and a special master’s recommendation that he receive public reprimand. Evidence includes Calhoun’s social media posts, which “clearly suggest” that he intended to participate in a “violent takeover” of the capital, according to the opinion.
“If Calhoun was as involved as his posts indicate, then it is hard for us to see how anything less than disbarment can be accepted here,” the court wrote in a unanimous opinion. The matter is remanded for further proceedings.
Calhoun did not immediately respond to an ABA Journal interview request. On Jan. 9, 2021, he told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that people who forced their way into the Capitol were “heroic” and “patriotic.”
The Americus, Georgia, lawyer was convicted of felony and misdemeanor charges related to the Jan. 6 events. President Donald Trump granted Calhoun a pardon for all the offenses in January 2025.
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