The Justice Department indicted two “Proud Boys” on charges of “conspiracy” and a host of other crimes for their role in the riot at the U.S. Capitol in early January, with the indictment coming just a few days after investigators charged a trio of “Oath Keepers” with conspiracy related to the Capitol siege too.
Dominic Pezzola and William Pepe, both New York members of the right-wing Proud Boys (described as a “nationalist organization with multiple U.S. chapters and potential activity in other Western countries”), had been hit with charges of “conspiracy; civil disorder; unlawfully entering restricted buildings or grounds; and disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted buildings or grounds,” the DOJ announced Friday night.
Pezzola, also known as “Spaz” or “Spazzo” and who investigators said stole a riot shield from a Capitol Police officer and used it to smash a Capitol Building window, was further charged with “obstruction of an official proceeding; additional counts of civil disorder and aiding and abetting civil disorder; robbery of personal property of the United States; assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers; destruction of government property; and engaging in physical violence in a restricted buildings or grounds.”
Pezzola and Pepe “engaged in a conspiracy to obstruct, influence, impede, and interfere with law enforcement officers engaged in their official duties in protecting the U.S. Capitol and its grounds” and “took actions to evade and render ineffective the protective equipment deployed by Capitol Police in active riot control measures, including actions to remove temporary metal barricades erected by the Capitol Police for the purpose of controlling access to the Capitol Grounds, and the stealing and purloining of property belonging to Capitol Police,” the Justice Department said.
Pezzola also “confronted a Capitol Police officer attempting to control the crowd and ripped away the officer’s riot shield, while the officer was physically engaging with individuals who had gathered unlawfully in the west plaza of the Capitol” and “can be seen on video that has been widely distributed, using that riot shield to smash a window at the U.S. Capitol,” the department said.
The two men had originally been charged earlier in January, but the conspiracy charges were new.
U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin, the lead prosecutor in Washington, D.C., filed a 10-page indictment related to the two men on Friday evening, saying that the Proud Boys describes itself as a “pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modem world” and “Western Chauvinists.”
Proud Boys members “routinely attend rallies, protests, and other First Amendment protected events, where certain of its members sometimes engage in acts of violence against individuals whom they perceive as threats to their values,” Sherwin said.
Proud Boys members “often wear the colors yellow and black, as well as other apparel adorned with Proud Boys-related logos and emblems,” the prosecutor said.
Pezzola’s social media biography described him as a “Marine vet / boxer / patriot/ Proud Boy 2nd°” and that he “kept at his home a tactical vest with the Proud Boys logo on it,” the indictment read. Pepe also “kept various articles of Proud Boy-related paraphernalia in his home … including a tactical vest with the Proud Boys logo on it.”
The “object of the conspiracy was to obstruct, influence, impede, and interfere with law enforcement officers engaged in their official duties in protecting the U.S. Capitol and its grounds” as Congress counted the votes certifying now-President Joe Biden’s win over former President Donald Trump, and “the conspiracy was carried out” when Pezzola, Pepe, and others attempted to “evade and render ineffective the protective equipment deployed by Capitol Police in active riot control measures, including actions to remove temporary metal barricades erected by the Capitol Police for the purpose of controlling access to the Capitol Grounds, and the stealing and purloining of property belonging to Capitol Police,” the Justice Department said.
Three people associated with the right-wing Oath Keepers militia group, which sought recruits in the months leading up to the Jan. 6 siege of Congress, were indicted Wednesday on charges of conspiring to obstruct Congress in connection to the Capitol siege.
The pipe bombs found by investigators outside the headquarters for the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee had been planted the night before the storming of the U.S. Capitol building, the FBI revealed Friday. Sherwin said this week that 400 subject case files have been opened so far, and there are more than 150 cases with federal charges.
Sherwin has said that “specialized teams” were considering “seditious conspiracy” charges and were also still investigating the deaths of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick and Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt. Sicknick died on Jan. 7 “due to injuries sustained while on-duty” after he was “injured while physically engaging with protesters,” according to Capitol Police. Babbitt, an Air Force veteran, was fatally shot by an officer “while attempting to enter the House chamber through broken windows.”
About 81 members of the Capitol Police and 58 members of the Metropolitan Police Department were assaulted during the siege of the Capitol, the Justice Department said.
“Many media members were assaulted and had cameras and other news gathering equipment destroyed” and “the Capitol suffered millions of dollars in damage,” investigators also said.
The Democratic-led House voted to impeach Trump, with the article of impeachment accusing him of inciting an insurrection, which he has denied doing. The final impeachment vote was 232-197, with 10 Republicans voting to impeach Trump. The Senate trial is set to be held in February.
