2 Proud Boys Members Indicted In Attack On U.S. Capitol

NPR | By Dustin Jones

Published January 29, 2021 at 10:14 PM EST

Two members of the far-right Proud Boys were indicted in federal court Friday. Both men face a slew of charges for their participation in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Two members of the far-right group the Proud Boys were indicted in federal court Friday for their participation in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Charges included obstructing an official proceeding and assaulting officers.

Forty-three year-old Dominic Pezzola of Rochester, N.Y., and 31-year-old William Pepe of Beacon, N.Y., were both originally charged by criminal complaint and were arrested in mid-January, a Department of Justice statement said. Both men were indicted in Washington, D.C., on Friday on federal charges of conspiracy, civil disorder, unlawfully entering restricted buildings or grounds, and disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted buildings or grounds.

Pezzola faces additional charges of obstruction of an official proceeding; auxiliary 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 or grounds.

Pepe was a Metro Transit Authority employee. According to an arrest affidavit, he used sick leave to attend the Jan. 6 rally at which President Donald Trump spoke before the Capitol riot. He was identified after a photo of him in the Capitol was made public.

The Associated Press previously reported that Pezzola is a former Marine. He spent six years in the infantry before being discharged as a corporal in 2005. According to a criminal complaint affidavit, one witness said Pezzola bragged that he broke the windows of the Capitol with a police shield and then entered the building. The witness also told authorities Pezzola admitted that he would have killed Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence, if given the chance.

Both men are members of the Proud Boys. The group defines themselves as a "pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world; aka Western Chauvinists." Group members typically sport black and yellow clothing, with Proud Boys patches and apparel.