Six more people associated with the Proud Boys have been indicted with conspiracy and other charges related to last month’s rioting at the U.S. Capitol, the Department of Justice announced Friday.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging the half dozen co-defendants with conspiring to obstruct or impede an official proceeding and other charges, the Justice Department said afterward.
The six include William Chrestman, 47, Christopher Kuehne, 47, and Ryan Ashlock, 21, of Kansas; Louis Enrique Colon, 44, a Missouri resident; and Felicia Konold, 27, and Cory Konold, 25, of Arizona.
Each of the co-defendants had already been arrested in the weeks after the U.S. Capitol was breached as members of Congress met last month to recognize the results of the recent presidential race.
Federal prosecutors have since presented evidence to members of the grand jury which resulted in the indictment being returned against the six defendants charged together in the latest court filing.
Prosecutors allege the men from Colorado and Kansas traveled last month to Washington, D.C., then met with other members of the Proud Boys group on the National Mall before heading toward the Capitol with the Konolds.
The indictment alleges the defendants “planned with each other, and with others known and unknown, to enter the Capitol forcibly on January 6, and to stop, delay and hinder the Congressional proceeding occurring that day,” the Justice Department stated in a news release.
“The defendants brought and wore paramilitary gear and supplies—including camouflaged combat uniforms, tactical vests with plates, helmets, eye protection and radio equipment, and affixed orange tape to their clothing and tactical gear to identify each other,” the Justice Department alleged. “The defendants marched with other members of the Proud Boys to the Capitol and forcibly stormed past exterior barricades, U.S. Capitol Police officers and law enforcement officers, before all but Ashlock entered the Capitol.”
The indictment charges each of the defendants with one count of conspiracy, one count of obstruction of an official proceeding and one count of obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, as well as two counts each of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. Additionally, Mr. Chrestman is charged in connection with allegedly threatening to assault a police officer.
More than 300 people have been charged in connection with the events of Jan. 6, Acting Deputy Attorney General John Carlin said Friday. Most of those — over 280 — have been arrested, he added.
Gavin McInness, a Canadian, started the Proud Boys group in 2016. Self-described “western chauvinists,” multiple confirmed and suspected members of the group were among those who breached the Capitol and charged accordingly.
Indeed, several people associated with the Proud Boys have previously been indicted on counts including conspiracy since the Capitol was stormed, including two from New York and another from Hawaii.
The Justice Department did not say when the six would be arraigned on the indictment.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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