A member of the Proud Boys became the group’s first national leader to plead guilty to conspiracy charges related to the Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill.
Charles Donohoe, 34, a leader of the 65-member “Ministry of Self Defense” chapter of the Proud Boys, has agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department‘s investigation into the group as part of a plea agreement.
“At least as early as Jan. 4, 2021, Donohoe was aware that the Ministry of Self Defense’s leaders were discussing the possibility of storming the Capitol. Donohoe believed that storming the Capitol would achieve the group’s goal of stopping the government from carrying out the transfer of presidential power,” the Justice Department said in a press release. “Donohoe understood from discussions that the Proud Boys would pursue their objective through the use of force and violence.”
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He pleaded guilty to felony charges of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers.
Donohoe, who also served as the head of the Proud Boys North Carolina chapter, helped establish Telegram communications among the group’s leadership, officials said. His cooperation is expected to give prosecutors a significant boost in their inquiry against the Proud Boys with a 13-page “statement of the offense” giving significant insights into the operations of the group, which describes itself as a “pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world.”
The group leader initially resisted traveling to Washington, D.C., on the day of the rally, instead hoping to help with the planning, according to the statement of offense. Eventually, he was persuaded to go and became one of 100 or more members who marched toward the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, prosecutors said.
“Donohoe threw two water bottles at a line of law enforcement officers who were attempting to prevent the mob’s advance in the West Plaza at the Capitol building. As events continued, Donohoe joined with a crowd, including other Proud Boys, to push forward to advance up the concrete stairs toward the Capitol. The crowd overwhelmed law enforcement officers on the stairs, continued toward the Capitol, and ultimately entered the Capitol,” the Justice Department said.
He was arrested on March 11, 2021, and is one of six defendants from the group indicted on conspiracy charges. Tarrio was charged with conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and obstruction of an official proceeding last month. Although he was not physically present in Washington on the day of the riot, he was involved in the planning, prosecutors alleged. Tarrio pleaded not guilty to the charges earlier this week.
Donohue faces up to 28 years in prison if convicted.
No sentencing date has been set and he also owes $2,000 in restitution for damage done during the riot.
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So far, over 225 people have pleaded guilty to charges related to the Jan. 6 riot out of the 775 who have been charged. On Wednesday, Jeffrey Finley, 29, who led the West Virginia chapter of the Proud Boys, pleaded guilty to entering Capitol grounds illegally during the riot.
The Justice Department has come under increasing pressure from Democrats in Congress to ramp up its prosecutions against perpetrators of the riot. Last month, the department asked Congress for funding to hire 131 additional lawyers to assist in its backlog of cases.
