Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 51
- Location
- Celina, Ohio
- Charges
- Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Entering and Remaining on the Floor of Congress; Disorderly Conduct on Capitol Grounds and in any of the Capitol Buildings; Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in any of the Capitol Buildings; Failure to Appear (2 counts)
- Case status
- Pleaded not guilty; Dismissed in part or full
Case Summary
Donald Chilcoat came under investigation after the FBI received “numerous” tips about him and his wife Shawndale, according to the bureau. Court documents show the FBI served a search warrant to Google, which led them to records showing a device associated with Chilcoat’s email as being inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Investigators also served a search warrant to Facebook, and found a video Chilcoat allegedly narrated at the Capitol, saying, “we’re getting ready to go up that scaffolding into the capitol building here. People climbing everywhere. Crazy s*** man. Crazy s*** here... we’re going into the capitol building now.” Prosecutors say they compared Chilcoat’s Ohio driver’s license to images from Capitol surveillance footage and that Chilcoat can be seen in that footage wearing jeans, a black jacket, and a red “Trump” beanie. A tipster who knows Chilcoat and his wife personally positively identified them in images from the Capitol, court records state. Chilcoat was arrested in August of 2022.
Case History
Chilcoat pleaded Not Guilty to all charges. Jury trial set for 5/5/2025. On 2/3/2025, the court grants the government’s motion to dismiss the case with prejudice.
Sources
- Primary Documentation
NPR Jan. 6 Defendant DatabaseNPR - Primary Documentation
Underlying court recordCourt record linked by NPR
Case summary, charges, procedural updates and image are drawn from the NPR Jan. 6 archive snapshot dated 2026-09-25 unless otherwise indicated.