The Georgia Supreme Court has thrown a major curveball in the disciplinary case of W. McCall Calhoun, Jr., a veteran attorney who admitted to joining the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. In a unanimous decision released late last week, the justices flatly rejected a proposed settlement that would have let Calhoun off with a simple public reprimand.
Instead, the court suggested that Calhoun’s actions—which he once bragged about on social media as a “hostile takeover”—might be serious enough to cost him his law license for good.
Calhoun, who has practiced law since 1990, has been on a legal rollercoaster. He was originally convicted of a felony and several misdemeanors for his role in the Capitol riot. However, his path took a turn when a federal appeals court vacated his felony conviction in late 2024.
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Not long after, he received a full presidential pardon on January 20, 2025.
With the criminal charges wiped away, Calhoun and the State Bar of Georgia reached an agreement. Calhoun admitted he committed criminal trespass (a misdemeanor) and asked for a public reprimand. The State Bar signed off on the deal, citing his lack of a prior record and his expressed remorse.
“Torn Into Little Pieces”
The Supreme Court, however, wasn’t buying the “low-level trespass” narrative. The justices pointed to Calhoun’s own social media posts from the day of the riot—words that paint a much more violent picture than a simple trespass.
In those posts, Calhoun boasted about being among the first to rush the building after the “Vanguard” clashed with police. He described a scene where the mob “brought the Government to its knees” and “kicked in Nancy Pelosi’s office door.”
Calhoun also wrote that the former Speaker of the House “probably would have been torn into little pieces” had the mob found her.
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The court noted that while the pardon cleared his criminal record, it does nothing to erase the ethical breach. “If Calhoun was as involved as his posts indicate,” the court wrote, “then it is hard for us to see how anything less than disbarment can be accepted here.”
What Happens Next?
By rejecting the voluntary discipline, the Supreme Court has effectively sent the case back to the drawing board. A Special Master will now have to dig deeper into the actual extent of Calhoun’s conduct.
For the legal community, the message is clear: even if the federal government offers a pardon, the Georgia Supreme Court holds its officers to a standard that doesn’t necessarily include “hostile takeovers” of the seat of government.
Calhoun remains suspended from practicing law as the case continues.
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