SC man tied to Jan. 6 Capitol riot, Proud Boys to be sentenced for threats 

A Lexington County man with links to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and the Proud Boys is scheduled to be sentenced later this month on charges connected to threatening a former federal prosecutor.

James Giannakos, 47, of Gilbert, will be sentenced on June 29 by U.S. District Judge Terry Wooten for making threatening interstate telephone calls to the former prosecutor, who lives in Florida, according to court records filed this week.

Records in the case said Giannakos hopes to get a sentence between 10 and 16 months in prison for using a telephone to make a threat across state lines. Federal guidelines call for a 24- to 30-month sentence, according to court records.

Giannakos is a self-employed home repairman and security system installer, according to records in his case. He attended Lexington High School through the 10th grade and has a GED diploma, records say.

In early February, when the FBI raided Giannakos’ two-story house in Gilbert, agents took numerous items including a Capitol Police riot shield alleged to have been taken during the riot, guns and Proud Boys literature, according to court documents.

The Proud Boys have been described in various ways, including as “a far-right, anti-immigrant, all-male group with a history of street violence against its left-wing opponents” by the BBC. Another outlet, USA Today, described them as a “Western chauvinist” drinking club that has long been a refuge for white supremacists, antisemites and assorted extremists seeking a veneer of legitimacy.

In a warrant in the Giannakos case, the FBI described the Proud Boys as “an extremist right wing group that has gained a reputation for leading protests that often turned violent in cities such as Washington D.C. and Portland, Oregon.”

The items seized at Giannakos’ home shows “probable cause” that he “participated in the capital riots of Jan. 6, 2021,” according to FBI search warrant documents.

Giannaokos’ public defender attorney, Allen Burnside, declined to comment.

Also this week, a bid by Giannakos to get out of jail while awaiting his June 29 sentencing date on the threat charge was rejected Thursday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Paige Gossett.

At that hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim May presented evidence that although Giannakos pleaded guilty on April 9 in Columbia to threatening a former federal prosecutor, he still poses a danger to that prosecutor, according to court records.

Gossett ruled Giannakos will remain in jail until his June 29 sentencing hearing because he could not show “by clear and convincing evidence that he does not present a danger to the victim in this case,” according to a court filing made public Friday.

In a petition to get out of jail, Giannakos said he “would appreciate being out, if even for a short time, to attend to several personal matters that include helping a friend going through cancer treatments and fixing a couple of things around his wife’s house.”

In the threat case, court records said the FBI traced threatening phone calls to the former federal prosecutor in Florida in late January to a South Carolina phone used by Giannakos.

Giannakos had become angry at the prosecutor because she was quoted confirming news reports that Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio had once been a valuable confidential informant for the FBI in drug cases, according to federal court records.

One telephone message for the former prosecutor left by Giannakos said, in part, “If anything happens to Mr. Enrique Tarrio, the same thing will happen to you and your family. ... If anything happens to him, I promise you and your associates will pay for it.”

The threats were recorded as voicemails at the various law offices in the firm where the former prosecutor now works as a private attorney, a complaint in the case said.

Although no charges are known to have been filed against Giannakos in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, a document in his court file said he is being investigated for assaulting a federal agent, conspiracy to assault federal agents, theft of government property and interstate travel to participate in a riot.

More than two dozen Proud Boys leaders or associates have been arrested so far by the FBI for alleged actions during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, The Washington Post reported this week. In all, more than 400 people have been arrested in connection with the riots. Their cases are being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia.

In February, when Giannakos was arrested on the threat charge, then-U.S. Attorney for South Carolina Peter McCoy underscored the seriousness of the offense.

“Those who seek violent retribution on prosecutors, former prosecutors, other law enforcement officials and individuals who assist law enforcement will be held accountable,” he said.

This story was originally published June 6, 2021 at 5:00 AM.