Proud Boys conspiracy charges

Prosecutors said in a news release that two members of the far-right “Western Chauvinist” group [Proud Boys] conspired to obstruct law enforcement officers’ efforts to protect the Capitol from the mob. The members, Dominic Pezzola of Rochester, N.Y., and William Pepe of Beacon, N.Y., had already been charged with lesser offenses from their activities on Jan. 6.

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Prosecutors said 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 on Jan. 6, 2021.”

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Conspiracy charges were also previously announced against three members of the militia group the Oath Keepers over their alleged role in the chaos on Capitol Hill.

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At least four other members of the Proud Boys have been charged thus far over the insurrection

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Pezzola is also said to have ripped away a Capitol Police officer riot shield while the officer was trying to push back the rioters. Files retrieved when FBI agents raided his home indicated he had been examining “Advanced Improvised Explosives,” “Explosive Dusts” and “Ragnar’s Big Book of Homemade Weapons.”

Michael Scibetta, Pezzola’s lawyer, told The New York Times Friday night that he had not yet seen the new conspiracy charges and that he was being barred from seeing his client.

  The Hill

That sounds like trouble.