Two New York men, recently identified by the Justice Department as members of the Proud Boys, were beaten Friday with additional conspiracy charges related to the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Dominic Pezzola, 43, of Rochester, and William Pepe, 31, of Beacon, were charged in federal court in the District of Columbia on charges of conspiracy, civil disorder, unlawful entry into confined buildings or grounds, and disorderly and disruptive behavior in limited buildings or grounds.
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Pezzola was also accused of obstructing official proceedings, additional counts of civil disorder, and aiding and inciting civil disorder; theft of personal property from the United States; attacking, resisting or interfering with certain officials; destruction of government property; and committing physical violence in confined buildings or areas.
Pepe and Pezzola were originally charged on indictment and were arrested on Jan. 12 and 15, respectively, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said in a statement Friday.
Pepe has been banned from his $ 73,000-a-year job with the Metro Transit Authority after calling in sick on Jan. 6 to travel to DC for the planned uprising.
Pezzola seen in the Capitol on January 6 (Ministry of Justice)
Meanwhile, Pezzola, who according to prosecutors also uses “Spaz”, “Spazzo” or “Spazzolini”, is now accused of having digital manuals for making bombs on a hard drive removed from his home in Rochester. He is known for lighting what appeared to be a cigar in the Capitol while making a video of himself, telling the camera that he had a “ victory smoke. ”
Both men are members of the Proud Boys, a far-right nationalist group that describes itself as a “pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world; also known as Western chauvinists.”
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Proud Boys members often wear yellow and black colors, as well as other clothing adorned with Proud Boys-related logos and emblems, the Justice Department said. It is claimed that both Pepe and Pezzola own tactical vests with the Proud Boys logo and have attended several Proud Boys rallies and protests.
Both men reportedly removed temporary metal barricades restricting access to Capitol grounds and stole Capitol Police property. Pezzola is also accused of confronting a Capitol Police officer who is trying to control the crowd and tear away his riot shield.
Another video that is widespread shows that Pezzola used that shield to break a window in the Capitol, according to Friday’s indictment.
Pezzola saw how he used a stolen police riot to destroy a window in the Capitol on January 6 (Department of Justice)
Prosecutors are trying to detain Pezzola until trial because his “ offer to report to the police did not come until the FBI knocked on the door of the Rochester, New York area to speak to relatives, ” the government wrote in a memorandum in which is requested for pre-trial detention.
FBI agents who executed a search warrant at Pezzola’s home on the day of his arrest found a USB stick containing hundreds of .pdf files containing “ detailed instructions for making homemade firearms, poisons and / or explosives, ” said the memo.
Prosecutors allege that on Jan. 9, Pezzola stopped using his normal cell phone and shaved his beard to hide his identity before FBI agents finally pushed him to agree to police on Jan. 15. . (Justice)
A series entitled “Advanced Improvised Explosive Devices” had multiple series, including “Explosive Dust” and “Incendiary Bombs”; “The Box Tube MAC-11,” with subtitle, “The UltimateDIY Machine Pistol;” “Ragnar’s Big Book of Homemade Weapons;” and “The Advanced Anarchist’s Arsenal: Recipes for Improvised Incendiary and Explosive Devices.”
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The government memo states, “All of the above examples contain detailed instructions for how to reflect the topic in their titles, and are only four of the hundreds of PDF files with the same title on the recovered USB drive.”
A witness interviewed by the FBI said members of a group, including Pezzola, spoke of their participation in the storming of the Capitol and said they would have murdered house speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Vice President Mike Pence if given the chance . .
The group is said to plan to return to DC for its presidential inauguration on Jan. 20, according to the memo.