FBI team raided home of Georgia couple over US Capitol riots, held daughter, 11, at gunpoint, dad says

Originally Posted On BPR

FBI agents allegedly held an 11-year-old girl at gunpoint during a raid at an Atlanta-area farm owned by a couple who reportedly have ties to a far-right militia group.

In an incident that is just now emerging in the media, 40 federal agents traveling in four armored vehicles showed up at Covington, Ga.-area home of Donnie and Annmarie Hyatt on the morning of August 10 with a search warrant apparently as part of the ongoing investigation into the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Donnie Hyatt told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that “‘They had my 11-year-old daughter at gunpoint’…He said his daughter had laser sights trained on her and ‘is pretty shaken’ by the experience. ‘She still shakes when she talks about it,’ he said.”

Donnie Hyatt and his wife attended the January 6 “stop the steal” rally in Washington D.C., but he says they did not enter the Capitol building and described the breach as a “really dumb decision.”

Instead, he claims he was monitoring what was going on with a police scanner. “I don’t even know anybody that knows anybody that went in,” he insisted.

Agents on scene at the Newton County, Ga. farm, reportedly told Hyatt that the investigation was under seal and were unable to provide much information. After the search, agents left the premises with the family’s entire trove of electronic devices, including the youngster’s tablet.

Despite all the simplistic, politically driven hoopla about the so-called insurrection, it is possible to simultaneously approve of a thorough inquiry into what happened and prosecution of wrongdoers and also favor due process for those caught up in the investigation.

The disproportionate show of force by federal law enforcement is perhaps reminiscent of the January 2019 raid by heavily armed feds at Trump-supporting political consultant Roger Stone’s home.

“The footage depicts what you’d expect if the FBI raided the home of a Mexican drug lord, maybe even SEAL Team 6 going into [Osama] bin Laden’s compound,” Fox News host Tucker Carlson remarked shortly thereafter. “For context, Roger Stone is a senior citizen accused of false statements to Congress.”

“The Hyatts are associated with the III% Security Force militia” led by Chris Hill, the AJC added. “Hyatt said he knows Hill and said his wife communicates with Hill frequently, but he said he is not a member of the militia.”

“I can’t have my life destroyed,” Hyatt said in the context of denying any participation with the group.

Chris Hill was not present in D.C. on January 6, instead attending a protest outside the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta. “Hill has been a regular personality on the far-right fringe for years, often making outlandish statements online and showing up heavily armed to demonstrations,” the Atlanta news outlet recalled.

The FBI has declined to make a public statement about the raid at the Hyatts’ farm.