DONATE TO DAVID JOHNSTON

Born and raised in the Carolinas, I grew up splitting my time between Charlotte, NC, and Surfside Beach, SC, where my family had beach rental property that was in constant need of repair. My father was a WWII Air Force fighter pilot who taught me grit and determination. Dad sent me to Camden Military Academy for two years. I loved Camden and excelled there. Because I did well academically, Camden encouraged me to transfer to a more rigorous school, leading me to graduate from Northfield Mt. Hermon School in Northfield, Massachusetts (a D.L. Moody school) in 1974. Out of high school, I went into broadcasting as a disc jockey at WIST in Charlotte, then WLVA in Lynchburg, Virginia, and WJJS in Lynchburg. I entered East Carolina University to study computer science full-time. I worked evenings as a disc jockey at WOOW in Greenville and WRQR Farmville.  With my growing computer knowledge, I became a partner in Masterquill Graphics in San Diego, California, which was pioneering print graphics at the time.  Eventually, I returned to the Carolinas to attend Campbell Law School, graduating with a Juris Doctor in 1991. Here in the Lowcountry, I worked in mortgage banking and real estate and became a licensed real estate broker.  When Operation Iraqi Freedom commenced, I was asked to work in Baghdad, Iraq, consulting private security and life support providers. Between 2004 and 2010, I lived in BIAP and the Green Zone, traveled in Basrah, Tikrit, Kirkuk, Baji, and Taji, and worked in the Red Zone of Mansour, Baghdad, where I was under fire on many occasions while supporting the effort of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 2012 and practiced at George Sink, PA Injury Lawyers for 10 years.  I am now in private practice.

I was at the Capitol on January 6, 2021—not as a rioter or lawbreaker, but as someone who believed the public had a right to voice concern about the integrity of the 2020 election. I entered through an open door, with police nearby and civilians waving people in. I never broke anything, never stole anything, never touched anyone, and I left the building before the oft-played-on-TV violence broke out on the West Terrace. I was inside for less than half an hour, and during that time, I believe what I witnessed was an occupy-style protest.

More than a year later, I was publicly ambush-arrested and charged with four misdemeanors. I pled guilty to a single petty offense: demonstrating without a permit. Despite having no criminal record, a long career as an attorney in good standing, and service as an ordained deacon, a DC District judge sentenced me to 21 days in federal prison, 90 days of home confinement, three years of probation, and thousands of dollars in fines. My law license was interim suspended, though it has since been fully reinstated.

I take responsibility for being there. I also believe the punishment nearly all J6ers received was much more harsh than the circumstances warranted.

I hope people will see my story for what it is—a reminder that lawfare exists and must not be allowed in our beautiful, free Repbulic.