NC man convicted of helping lead first Jan. 6 Capitol attack will speak at GOP event
A Cary man is being a called a victim for his conviction in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Republicans who will host him as a speaker next week.
James Tate Grant, 31, was sentenced to three years in prison on charges that included assaulting an officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon, The Charlotte Observer previously reported. Prosecutors say Grant helped lead the first attack on police at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Grant was among 1,500 people, including at least 50 North Carolinians, who were pardoned in January by President Donald Trump for their convictions or charges in the attack, The News & Observer previously reported.
“James Grant, a J6 Prisoner/Victim will share his story,” the Western Wake Republican Club said in a Facebook post promoting Monday’s meeting of the club.
State Rep. Erin Paré, Wake County school board member Cheryl Caulfield and new Wake County Republican Party chair Sandy Joiner are also listed as speakers at the meeting.
“Speaking on the same platform as another speaker is not necessarily an endorsement,” said Joiner, who is the former president of the Western Wake Republican Club. “We believe in hearing all viewpoints.”
Caulfield and Paré said they hadn’t heard of Grant and won’t attend due to scheduling conflicts.
Grant ‘paved the way’ to storm the Capitol
On Jan. 6, 2021, a mob of Trump supporters breached the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s election.
Grant and three other men led the first breach of the restricted Capitol grounds and the initial attack on U.S. Capitol Police officers, according to FBI criminal complaints.
“Their attack paved the way for thousands of rioters to storm the Capitol grounds,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., said in a news release.
The FBI said Grant climbed through a broken window to get into the Capitol building. “He then stormed the halls with other rioters and was recorded with others” in the office of U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, the FBI said.
Grant couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday by The N&O. But in an interview with the Carolina Journal, Grant said all he did was push down a fence.
“I had a nearly full scholarship to a couple of law schools, and I didn’t get to show up to any of them because of Jan. 6 for pushing a fence on that day,” Grant told The Carolina Journal.
’Never take my freedom for granted’
Grant was convicted of civil disorder, assaulting an officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon and obstruction of an official proceeding — all felonies. Grant was also found guilty of committing an act of physical violence on the Capitol grounds and disorderly and disruptive conduct on the Capitol grounds, both misdemeanors.
Court records show he previously pleaded guilty to entering and remaining in certain rooms in the Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building, also misdemeanors.
One of Trump’s first acts was to pardon all the people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack. The Trump administration has fired several Department of Justice prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases. Some FBI agents who worked on the cases also are worried about being fired.
“I will never take my freedom for granted again, and I think all the January Sixers feel like that because you see how easily it can be taken from you for something that is just not appropriate at all,” Grant told the Carolina Journal.
Grant ‘not a victim’
The flier for next week’s event has the words “Justice for J6 Victim” above Grant’s photo and the words “J6 Victim” under his name.
On Tuesday, Julie Pena, a Cary parent, questioned Caulfield being listed as a speaker at the upcoming GOP meeting. Pena said Grant “is not a victim,” especially compared to families who are worried about being taken to jail due to their immigration status.
“He’s a ‘victim’ as endorsed by one of our board members,” Pena said during public comments at the school board meeting. “But the people who come here like myself who have benefited from DEI policies wouldn’t be considered victims.”
Caulfield told the N&O on Wednesday that she hadn’t heard of Grant before Pena’s comments. Caulfield said she was not endorsing Grant.
Caulfield said the Western Wake Republican Club didn’t tell her who else would be speaking when they scheduled her for the meeting.
“I’m not even speaking in March because I had a schedule conflict arise,” Caulfield said in a text message. “I don’t know anything about the guest speaker you are referring to.
“I’m busy with school board affairs and meeting with legislators on school solutions trying to improve education, and I encourage people not to get distracted from the important work of serving students and to instead focus on the academics, reading, math, and life skills.”
In a message Wednesday to The N&O, Paré said she won’t attend Monday because she’s scheduled to be at a House Rules Committee meeting and another meeting that evening.
“I also don’t know who that guy is on the flyer that people are concerned about,” Paré added.
Staff writer Joe Marusak of The Charlotte Observer contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 12:56 PM.
