Pair of Proud Boys members from NY indicted on federal charges after Capitol riot
A group of Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021.
Two New York men identified as members of the far-right nationalist group the Proud Boys were indicted Friday for their alleged role in the January 6 insurrection and riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Dominic Pezzola, 43, of Rochester, New York, and William Pepe, 31, of Beacon, New York, were indicted in federal court in the District of Columbia on charges of conspiracy; civil disorder; unlawfully entering restricted buildings or grounds; and disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted buildings or grounds. Pezzola is also facing a battery of other charges, including obstruction of an official proceeding, robbery of personal property of the United States and destruction of government property.
The pair were originally arrested earlier this month.
Authorities say Pezzola was seen on video using a riot shield taken from a Capitol Police officer to smash a window at the U.S. Capitol, while Pepe was photographed inside the building.
"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," the indictment says, accusing Pezzola, Pepe and unnamed others of leading a group of Proud Boys and others to the Capitol and moving police barricades there.
Pezzola's lawyer Michael Scibetta said Saturday he was researching the charges but hadn’t been able yet to discuss the indictment with his client, who is being held without bail. A lawyer for Pepe, Shelli Peterson, declined to comment.
NY men charged in Capitol riot
The FBI referenced photos that three New York-area men posted on social media and sent to close contacts to arrest them in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Three self-described members of a paramilitary group were charged with conspiracy this month and accused of plotting the attack on the Capitol. But the new charges against Pezzola and Pepe appear to be the first conspiracy cases involving alleged members of the Proud Boys, a far-right group of self-described "Western chauvinists."
Get breaking news alerts in the FOX5NY News app. Download for FREE!
Michael Sherwin, the acting U.S. attorney for Washington, said in a court filing Friday that Pezzola "showed perseverance, determination, and coordination in being at the front lines every step along the way before breaking into the Capitol," and that his actions in shattering the window and allowing an initial group of rioters to stream through "cannot be overstated."
Pezzola was later seen on video inside the Capitol with a cigar, having what he called a "victory smoke," and boasting that he "knew we could take this" over, Sherwin wrote. He argued the remarks showed Pezzola "invested a significant personal effort to take over the Capitol and that he did so in coordination with others."
Rockland County man arrested after Washington D.C. riot
Chris Kelly appeared in court Thursday after being arrested in connection with the deadly riots at the U.S. Capitol Building earlier this month.
An unidentified witness told the FBI that Pezzola was with a group at the Capitol whose members said they would have killed anyone they got hold of, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and then-Vice President Mike Pence, according to prosecutors. The witness added that people in the group said they'd return on the "20th" and kill everyone they could. The presidential inauguration was Jan. 20.
In a search of Pezzola's home in Rochester, New York, FBI agents found a computer thumb drive with hundreds of files detailing how to make firearms, poisons or explosives, Sherwin wrote in arguing that Pezzola should continue to be held without bail.
Pezzola, 43, served six years stateside in the Marines as an infantryman and was discharged in 2005 at the rank of corporal, service records show. His lawyer has said his client is self-employed and a family man.
Pepe, 31, was photographed inside the Capitol and later identified as a Metro-North Railroad train yard laborer who had called in sick to go to Washington for a Jan. 6 protest by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, according to a Jan. 11 criminal court complaint. Pepe, who lives in Beacon in New York’s Hudson Valley, has since been suspended without pay from his job at the New York City-area commuter railroad.
Overall, federal authorities have charged more than 150 people in the Capitol siege.
With the Associated Press.