By Kevin Krause
A Flower Mound man whose son was recently ordered to federal prison for selling fentanyl to high schoolers is now facing his own federal charges — for allegedly storming the U.S. Capitol building during the riots of Jan. 6, 2021.
Paul Thomas Brinson, 65, a computer mainframe developer, faces four charges related to trespassing and disorderly conduct at the Capitol. He was arrested Tuesday and released. He declined to comment Thursday when reached by phone. Brinson’s first court appearance is scheduled for next week, court records show.
Brinson admitted being inside the Capitol building for about 45minutes, court records said.
He is one of about 30 Dallas-area residents charged in connection with the 2021 Capitol Hill riots. Nationwide, more than 1,000 people have been arrested for crimes related to the Capitol breach. And more than 350 have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement during the riots.
Brinson’s 18-year-old son was sentenced in August to a little over eight years in federal prison for supplying high school students and others with fake M30 pills laced with fentanyl. Authorities said he sold the drug from his parents’ Flower Mound house.
The elder Brinson worked as a mainframe developer and systems analyst and received a business administration degree from Baylor University, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Brinson was seen on videotape wearing a “TRUMP 45″ hoodie and holding a “Texas for Trump” flag while inside the Capitol building near then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s lobby on Jan. 6., according to an FBI complaint.
The FBI received a tip about Brinson in May 2021. Agents cross referenced the Capitol building images with Brinson’s Facebook account and spoke to an unidentified person who confirmed the wanted man was Brinson, the complaint said.
Agents interviewed Brinson in October 2021. He told them he flew alone to Maryland to attend the Donald Trump rally. He initially denied entering the Capitol and then admitted it when reminded that it’s a crime to lie to the FBI, the complaint said.
Brinson said he walked by Pelosi’s office but did not enter. He also said he was close to where rioter Ashli Babbitt was shot and killed by a police officer and that he left the building shortly after that. Babbitt was shot as she tried to climb through broken glass to reach the Speaker’s Lobby.
Brinson’s son, Stephen Brinson, was sentenced in August to prison for supplying fentanyl to Flower Mound and Carrollton high school students.
Hisparents were out of town when police searched the house in March. His girlfriend was home and had just taken some of the fentanyl pills when officers arrived with a search warrant, officials said.
They found a note in the house from Brinson’s parents to him with a list of chores and a warning: “Don’t meet people in front of the house or in view of the house.” His father later told police he knew Stephen used fentanyl but said he and his wife were unaware their son was selling the pills in front of the home, authorities said.
While the house was searched, officers stopped the younger Brinson’s car as he was driving to deliver fentanyl to a customer in Flower Mound, authorities said.
While in custody, Stephen Brinson said he was “minding his own [expletive] business in my white-[expletive] house in Flower Mound,” authorities said. He added that the fact that he was white and living in Flower Mound would “help him in his case,” the U.S. attorney’s office said in a news release.
Prosecutors said he distributed or intended to sell about 3,000 counterfeit pills containing fentanyl powder and that he also sold cocaine and carried guns, including an assault rifle.
The youngerBrinson was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon at age 14 after he held a knife to his father’s neck during an argument, the prosecutor said during his sentencing.
The teen had been to drug treatment three times but continued to sell the drug to young people, she said. The prosecutor called Brinson one of the area’s major sources of fentanyl pills who used Instagram and other messaging apps to discuss, negotiate and sell drugs.
Brinson’s parents attended the sentencing hearing and declined to comment.
Armed robber sentenced
In other developments, a North Texas man who once robbed a Collin County vape shop was sentenced in July to two years in federal prison for storming the Capitol.
Joshua Johnson, 32, of Sherman had a history of domestic violence, prosecutors said.
The divorced father was arrested in Plano in March 2022 and pleaded guilty a year later to obstructing an official proceeding.
Johnson breached the Capitol building during the deadly riot while wearing brown overall pants and a beanie cap.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Victoria Sheets said in a sentencing memo that Johnson donned a gas mask and entered the Senate Chamber during his rampage through the Capitol building.
While inside the Senate chamber, Johnson rifled through documents on the desk of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California who died last month. He also used his cell phone to take video of the documents.
Johnson walked up to former Vice President Mike Pence’s desk and continued to meander through the room, she said.
“Johnson walked over to the Republican side of the Senate and grabbed a water bottle off of Senator Rick Scott’s desk and drank it,” Sheets said. “Johnson then proceeded to place his things on another desk and take off his outer overall clothing, even kicking off his shoes to do so.”
Johnson told authorities he entered the Capitol Building to “stop the steal.” He hoped to find Congress in session and “be heard,” court records say.
He also wanted to convince Pence to “do the right thing” and to call out the “funky business going on with the votes,” court records show.
His attorney, Allen Howard Orenberg, said on Thursday that his client acknowledged his conduct in a “responsible manner.”
“He looks forward to rejoining his family as soon as possible,” he said.
Six months after storming the Capitol, Johnson forced his way into his parents’ home and tried to punch his father, prosecutors said.
Johnson was enraged that his mother refused to buy him a gun earlier that day and demanded his mother’s gun. He was convicted of criminal trespass for the incident and sentenced to a year in jail, court records say.
His lawyer said in a June court filing that Johnson worked at his brother’s construction company in Sherman before accepting a manager position at a McKinney Sonic.
Johnson robbed the vape shop in April 2019 while wearing a ski mask and hoodie and held store employees at gunpoint. He stole the employees’ wallets and phones as well as money from the register, according to court records.
He moved to Washington State while wanted for the armed robbery. Johnson was convicted of the crime last year and given probation, court records show.
