Georgia Republican running for Congress openly 'embracing' his role in Jan. 6 riot

Georgia resident Chuck Hand is among the many Donald Trump supporters who faced federal charges after breaking into the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021.

Now, the MAGA Republican is running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In 2022, Hand and his wife, Mandy Robinson-Hand, pled guilty to misdemeanor charges for illegally demonstrating inside the Capitol. And both of them were sentenced to 20 days in federal prison, along with six months of probation.

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Hand is seeking the GOP nomination to run against incumbent Democratic Rep. Sanford Bishop in Georgia's 2nd Congressional District). And according to Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reporter Greg Bluestein, he is "embracing" his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building — not trying to "run away" from it.

"Hand is far from the only candidate involved in the pro-Trump mob on January 6 to seek public office," Bluestein reports. "There are at least a half-dozen others across the nation, according to an NBC News tally, including contenders in races in Arizona, Missouri, Texas and West Virginia. And in Georgia, a right-wing activist who organized a pro-Trump demonstration in Washington that preceded the violent mob is seeking a key party post."

Bluestein adds, "Amy Kremer is challenging Ginger Howard to serve as one of Georgia's members of the Republican National Committee."

Karen Owen, who teaches political science at the University of West Georgia, believes that Hand's role in the January 6, 2021 riot could help rather than hurt his chances with GOP primary voters in his district.

Owen told AJC, "So many of those Republican voters are Trump loyalists, and it's not going to bother them. There are a lot of voters who are unhappy with the economy, unhappy with Washington — and Hand can play off that."

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If Hand defeats his GOP rivals in the primary and makes it to the general election, he will be up against a 77-year-old Democrat who has been serving in the U.S. House of Representatives for over 30 years.

After serving in the Georgia State Legislature since the late 1970s, Bishop was first elected to the U.S. House in 1992 and was reelected most recently in 2022.

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Read the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's full article at this link (subscription required).