FBI arrests Celina couple charged in Jan. 6

CELINA - A Celina couple charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol have been arrested after the FBI executed bench warrants early Wednesday morning.

The warrants had been issued for Donald and Shawndale Chilcoat after they reportedly failed to appear for a Sept. 5 status hearing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Federal court documents filed Oct. 6 state the court received information that Donald had "cut off and removed his ankle bracelet for location monitoring," and as a result the court considered the couple to be potential flight risks.

Donald Chilcoat was taken into custody by the FBI shortly after 6 a.m. Wednesday during a raid at the couple's Bunker Hill Road home, according to a Mercer County Sheriff's Office incident report.         Shawndale was arrested by FBI officers at the Mercer County Sheriff's Office.

The couple appeared without legal representation in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in Toledo before Judge Darrell Clay on Thursday. Donald and Shawndale were each assigned stand-by counsel, according to federal court documents filed Wednesday.

Clay ordered the U.S. Marshals Service to transport the Chilcoats to Washington, D.C., where they will be placed in custody. It's unclear when they will be transported or where they will be held.

The Chilcoats had been free on personal recognizance since shortly after their arrests on Aug. 11, 2022, in Celina.

The couple each were charged with felony obstruction or impeding an official proceeding, which carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

They were also each charged with five misdemeanors - entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; entering and remaining in the gallery of Congress; disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; and parade, demonstrate or picket in any of the Capitol buildings.