Federal prosecutors investigating the violent riot on Capitol Hill this month announced their first charges of conspiracy against the Proud Boys on Friday night, accusing two members of the far-right nationalist group of working together to obstruct and interfere with police officers protecting the Congress during the final certification of the presidential election.
In a brief press release, the Justice Department said an indictment had been filed against two Proud Boys, Dominic Pezzola, of Rochester, NY, and William Pepe, of Beacon, NY. But as of Friday night, the prosecution’s papers had not yet appeared in Washington’s federal court database. Both Pezzola, a former boxer and marine, and Pepe, an official with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, already faced minor charges related to the attack on the Capitol.
While more than 170 people have been charged with the deadly attack on the Capitol, most have been charged with relatively minor crimes, such as disorderly conduct and illegal entry. The only other serious conspiracy charges in the investigation were brought against three members of the Oath Keepers militia group, who are accused of preparing for the January 6 rally in Washington just a week after the election.
The Proud Boys, a group calling itself “Western chauvinist” who has a long history of bloody street fights with activists known as Antifa, caught the attention of investigators as one of the extremist groups that had a major presence on Capitol Hill during the assault.
Investigators prioritized exploring whether the attack was planned in advance. Earlier this week, Michael Sherwin, the US attorney in Washington, said prosecutors were focused on bringing “more complicated conspiracy cases related to possible coordination between militia groups” and “individuals from different states who had a plan to travel. “to Washington before January 6.
But as the new charge remained sealed on Friday night, it was unclear exactly how prosecutors believed Pezzola and Pepe conspired together to obstruct law enforcement.
Pezzola, 43, has been a particular focus of the extensive investigation into the attack on the Capitol almost from the moment it started.
Court documents released on Friday morning said he was in the first wave of protesters to enter the building, breaking a window with a plastic police shield. After climbing the window, prosecutors said, Pezzola joined a crowd that confronted a Capitol police officer, Eugene Goodman, on a stairway near the Senate floor. According to court documents, someone in the crowd shouted, “Where are they meeting? Where are the votes counting? “
Prosecutors said Pezzola later posted a video of himself online, smoking a cigar inside the Capitol. In the video, court documents say, he refers to the cigar as “victory smoke”, adding that he knew the crowd could take control of the building if the protesters “tried hard enough”.
When FBI agents searched Pezzola’s house near Rochester after the riot, prosecutors said, they found a thumb drive with several PDF files, some suggesting he was studying bomb-making techniques. The computer files, according to court documents, had titles like “Advanced improvised explosives”, “Explosive dust” and “Ragnar’s Great Book of Homemade Weapons”.
Michael Scibetta, Pezzola’s lawyer, said late on Friday that he had not yet seen the new charges of conspiracy and complained that authorities were not allowing him to see his client, who is now in custody in Washington.
“The issue is evolving,” said Scibetta, adding that prosecutors were depriving Pezzola of “his constitutionally guaranteed right to the assistance of a lawyer”.
Pepe’s lawyer, Susanne Brody, did not respond to an email asking for comment.
Previous accusations against Pepe, a 31-year-old Metro-North Railroad worker, have only been superficially described. In a criminal complaint issued on January 11, prosecutors said he used one day of sick leave to participate in a “Stop the Steal” protest in Washington and was subsequently photographed inside the Capitol. At a hearing earlier this week, prosecutors made an enigmatic reference to an ongoing investigation involving Pepe, but never fully explained what it was at the time.
At least four other members of the Proud Boys have so far been charged with connection to the Capitol attack, including a group leader, Joseph Biggs. Biggs, a veteran of the US Army, is accused of leading a group of about 100 Proud Boys in a furious march towards the Capitol.
Katie Benner and Ed Shanahan contributed reports.