Two members of Proud Boys group charged with conspiracy in Capitol Riot

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Federal prosecutors have announced conspiracy charges against two members of the far-right Proud Boys group for their involvement in the Capitol Riots.  

Dominic Pezzola and William Pepe have been charged by courts in Washington DC with conspiracy; civil disorder; unlawfully entering restricted buildings or grounds, and disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted buildings or grounds in relation to their involvement in the Capitol Riots on 6 January 2020.  

Pezzola was also 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 building.

US Law enforcement had also uncovered bomb-making manuals in the home of Pezzola, with “weapons and bomb-making manuals” on a thumb drive device found within his home near Rochester, New York.  

More than 135 arrests have been made in connection to the riot conducted by supporters of former-President Donald Trump, who were violently contending the formal congressional certification of President Biden’s election victory.

The riots resulted in five deaths, one of whom was a police officer.  

The Proud Boys, a self-described “western chauvinist” group, or a “pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world”, has a long history of bloody street fights with the activists known as Antifa, have drawn the attention of investigators because they are one of the extremist outfits that had a large presence on Capitol Hill during the assault.

The group also staged a number of protests suggesting that President Biden’s election was illegitimate.  

The group saw a significance increase in prevalence during the election and immediately afterwards, with researchers finding a 10 percent increase in membership of Proud Boys Telegram channels.  

In the first presidential debate of 2020, Trump was asked by the debate moderator Chris Wallace if he would be willing to condemn the Proud Boys, to which he replied "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by, but I'll tell you what, I'll tell you what, somebody's got to do something about Antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem." Shortly after, Joe Biggs, one of the Proud Boys organizers, shared through his Parler social media account a logo with the president's words "Stand back" and “Stand by”.