Father and two adult sons from North Georgia were arrested Jan. 6

William Gallagher, 55, was charged with disorderly conduct, a felony. He was also charged with four offenses relating to allegedly entering a restricted area.

According to federal investigators, the elder Gallagher was among the mob that entered the Capitol by forcing open the Rotunda doors. As Capitol Police tried to close the doors to more rioters, investigators allege that Gallagher was allegedly among the crowd inside that tried to stop them. According to court documents, Gallagher grabbed a police officer, pulled him away from the door and forced him to walk out the entrance.

“As a result, the Rotunda doors were breached again, allowing rioters to pour into the U.S. Capitol,” investigators wrote in a statement about their case.

Investigators allege that William’s sons, 22-year-old James and 25-year-old Thomas, were among the rioters who poured through those doors after the second break-in. James and Thomas Gallagher were each charged on Monday with the same four offenses against their father, but were not charged with any crimes.

According to investigators, after meeting at the Capitol, the three men moved to the front of another police line until a “scuffle” broke out and police used tear gas. Ultimately, the trio was part of a crowd of rioters who were driven away by the police. According to investigators, William Gallagher was at the Capitol for about 46 minutes, while his sons were there for about 27 minutes.

While it took more than three years to charge the Gallaghers, FBI agents acting on a tip spoke to William Gallagher at his home in Ellijay on January 26, 2021. According to the FBI report, Gallagher greeted the agents with the words, “I’ve been waiting for you.”

The interrogation didn’t last long and ended with Gallagher saying he wanted a lawyer.

Investigators wrote that in an FBI interview earlier this year, an employee at the Gallaghers’ gated community positively identified the three men from photos taken from surveillance camera footage during the Jan. 6 riot.

So far, 36 people with ties to Georgia have been charged as part of the long-running investigation into the Capitol insurrection.