Three of Polk's Jan. 6 defendants transferred to D.C., given court-appointed lawyers

Gary White, Lakeland Ledger
·2 min read

Three former Polk County residents captured Jan. 6 on charges related to the U.S. Capitol attack have been transferred to detention in Washington, D.C.

Federal court records show that U.S. Magistrate Judge Philip Lammens ordered Jonathan Pollock, Olivia Pollock and Joseph Hutchinson III remanded for custody in the District of Columbia following their arrest Jan. 6 at a ranch in Groveland, in southern Lake County.

Jonathan Pollock, 24, had been a fugitive since his indictment in June 2021. His older sister, Olivia Pollock, and their friend, Hutchinson, became fugitives after disabling GPS monitoring devices shortly before they were schedule to face trial last March. Both had been free on bond while awaiting trial.

Court documents specify why Lammens ordered the three to be held without bond following a hearing Jan. 8 in federal court in Ocala. Prosecutors had proved, the judge wrote, that Jonathan Pollock presented a danger to the community and that no combination of conditions for release would ensure his appearance for court hearings.

Listing other reasons for detention, Lammens wrote that the weight of evidence against him was strong, that he had previously attempted to evade law enforcement and that he would face a lengthy prison sentence if convicted.

Lammens wrote that “there is a preponderance of evidence that the defendant is a risk of flight and clear and convincing evidence that he is a danger to the community.”

Lammens offered similar reasons for ordering Olivia Pollock and Hutchinson held without bond and transferred to Washington, D.C.

North Lakeland siblings Olivia Pollock, left, and Jonathan Pollock, were charged with assaulting officers in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
North Lakeland siblings Olivia Pollock, left, and Jonathan Pollock, were charged with assaulting officers in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

In the orders for Jonathan Pollock and Hutchinson, Lammens ordered each to be held “in a corrections facility separate, to the extent practicable, from persons awaiting or serving sentences or being held in custody pending appeal.”

Jonathan Pollock faces charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding law-enforcement officers; civil disorder; violent entry and disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds; and theft of government property.

Jonathan and Olivia Pollock are former residents of the Kathleen area, north of Lakeland. Hutchinson lived in North Lakeland at the time of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol and had moved to Georgia before his arrest five months later.

Hutchinson, 27, faces the same charges as Jonathan Pollock, except for the theft charge. Olivia Pollock, 33, is charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding law-enforcement officers; civil disorder; and entering a restricted building or grounds.

Court records show that all three defendants were found to lack sufficient resources to hire lawyers and were appointed lawyers. Lammens appointed Jeremiah Blocker to represent Jonathan Pollock, Joshua Woodard to represent Olivia Pollock and Charles E. Taylor Jr. to represent Hutchinson.

The court entries did not list any additional charges that Olivia Pollock or Hutchinson might face for violating their conditions of release. The records do not list a date for the trio’s next court appearances.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Polk County's Jan. 6 defendants transferred to D.C., appointed lawyers