Anderson man who tried to stop Biden is 8th South Carolinian arrested in Capitol riot

BY JOHN MONK

JUNE 30, 2021 

George Tenney III, in center of photo and wearing a black jacket, was captured by surveillance cameras at 2:19 p.m. on Jan. 6. He is standing inside the Senate wing of the Capitol, minutes after the mob broke into the building. US COURT RECORDS

An Anderson, South Carolina, man who traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot in hopes of stopping Democrat Joe Biden from becoming president has been charged with half a dozen offenses, including obstructing law officers, according to court records.

In late December, George Tenney III, 34, posted messages on social media saying things like “I heard over 500k armed militia patriots will be in DC by the (Jan.) 4th. ... It’s starting to look like we may siege the capital building and Congress if the electoral votes don’t go right. ... We are forming plans for every scenario,” according to a criminal complaint in his case.

Tenney also repeated an allegation he heard on social media saying former Vice President Mike Pence “is a traitor and will betray the U.S. on the (Jan.) 6th,” the complaint said.

Earlier in December, Tenney was getting excited about the possibility of joining a group of “armed militia patriots” and stopping Biden from becoming president, the complaint said. “Where and how do I get involved or (be) a part of one of these patriot revolution groups? Like Proud Boys, or any of the other American Patriot militias?”

A criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Greenville charged Tenney with interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder, obstruction of justice, knowingly entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and demonstrating in a Capitol building.

According to a 30-page complaint, Tenney — once inside the Capitol — actively tried to get other rioters into the building and interfered with law officers who tried to stop the intruders.

“Tenney sought to help rioters enter the Capitol Building, confronting officers and Capitol employees while doing so,” the complain said. “Video footage captured Tenny confronting federal officers as he sought to open the East Rotunda Doors from the inside to allow rioters to enter, despite police efforts to keep the doors shut and keep the rioters outside.”

George Tenney III, of Anderson, is facing numerous charges including obstructing a law officer, disrupting government business and disorderly conduct in the U.S. Capitol. US Court records

Tenney then “approached the closed East Rotunda Doors and tried to push open the doors by shoving his body against them,” the complaint said.

“As Tenney succeeded in pushing one of the two doors open, J.G., an employee of the House Sergeant at Arms, ran toward Tenney, pushed him aside, and tried to close the door Tenney had opened. .... Tenney then ran to the door again and made physical contact with J.G., appearing to grab him by the shoulder. Their faces close together, the two men (Tenney and the officer) had a heated conversation,” the complaint said.

“According to J.G., Tenney said, in substance, ‘You’re not gonna stop us,’ and that there were so many of us that J.G. could not stop them,” the complaint said.

Tenney was involved in other confrontations with officers that turned physical, at times yelling things like, “Stand up, Patriots, stand up!” and “We are one of you! We are one of you!” according to the complaint.

The complaint cites as evidence numerous sources of documentation, including social posts by Tenney, surveillance and news videos and photos taken in the Capitol during the riot and interviews with Capitol law officers.

The complaint also says a Texas man, identified as Darrell Youngers, was with Tenney during much of the time that Tenney was in the Capitol. According to Texas news media, Youngers is facing some of the same federal charges as Tenney.

In an initial interview with law officers on Feb. 9 at his Anderson home, Tenney gave a different version of events of what he had done inside the Capitol on Jan. 6.

First, he told law officers, he was only inside the Capitol Building for three or four minutes before he and the people he was with realized that something bad was happening, prompting them to leave.

Tenney also said “he did not think he was doing anything wrong at the time, but, in hindsight, wishes he had not gone inside the Capitol Building. Tenney further stated that he did not engage in any violence inside or cause property damage. Instead, he said, he told people to stop damaging things and helped officers who had fallen to the ground to get back on their feet,” the complaint said.

Tenney was released Tuesday on $25,000 unsecured bond after a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacquelyn Austin in Greenville.

January 6 was the day when Congress was to certify Biden’s election to the presidency by a formal counting of the nation’s electoral votes. Vice President Pence was presiding over that process. President Trump and some of his supporters had said publicly that Pence had the power to stop the counting and deny Biden the presidency. In fact, Pence’s role in Congress that day was purely ceremonial and he had no power to change the votes.

On Jan. 6, rioters broke through the barricades and into the Capitol around 2 p.m. Eastern time. At that, members of the House and Senate began to flee to secure areas. Congress was effectively shut down for about six hours, when members returned and resumed counting the ballots that formally awarded the election to Biden.

Although Trump and many of his supporters continue to falsely claim that widespread fraud cost Trump the election, more than 60 court actions in more than six battleground states have been tossed out of court for lack of evidence. The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear cases alleging fraud.

Tenney is the eighth South Carolinian arrested on charges connected to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

The others are:

▪ A Hanahan couple, John Getsinger Jr. and Stacie Hargis-Getsinger, who live in Berkeley County.

▪ Elias Irizarry, 19, a freshman at the Citadel military college in Charleston.

▪ Elliott Bishai, 20, a York County man planning to enter the U.S. Army in the next few months.

▪ William Norwood III, of Greer, who is charged with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building without lawful authority, violent and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, obstruction of justice and theft of government property.

▪ Andrew Hatley, who is charged with “uttering threatening, or abusive language, or engag(ing) in disorderly or disruptive conduct, at any place in the Grounds or in any of the Capitol Buildings with the intent to impede, disrupt, or disturb the orderly conduct of a session of Congress or either House of Congress.” He is also charged with engaging disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

▪ Nicholas Languerand, 26, of Little River, is charged with assaulting an officer using a deadly weapon, according to a review of charging documents.

In addition, James Giannakos, 47, of Lexington County, who was at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and made off with Capitol police equipment including a body camera, according to evidence in a related case. Giannakos was sentenced Tuesday to 28 months in federal prison for threatening a former federal prosecutor.

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