A member of the Proud Boys and his brother are being held without bond for their alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 mob of Donald Trump supporters that stormed the U.S. Capitol Building, the Justice Department announced Monday.
Jonathanpeter Klein and his brother, Matthew Leland Klein, were charged last month with conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder and other counts over the Washington, D.C. riot.
Jonathanpeter, 21, a self-identified member of the Proud Boys, told his boss on Dec. 27 that he wanted to take off from Jan. 4 to Jan. 8 so that he and his brother could attended the “stop the steal rally in D.C.,” according to an indictment filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
He and Matthew, 24, flew from Oregon to Philadelphia on Jan. 4, then traveled to D.C. on Jan. 5, the indictment said.
At the Capitol, Matthew helped members of the mob use a police barricade to climb a wall and gain access to an external stairwell leading to the Upper West Terrace of the building, according to a Justice Department statement.
Both brothers entered the building just after 2 p.m., but then exited and proceeded to the Capitol’s north side, where they “worked together to forcibly open a secured door … with federal officers visible on the other side, causing damage to the building in excess of $1,000,” according to the statement.
When the officers tried to block the “violent entry,” Matthew put on protective goggles and used a flagpole to thwart their efforts, the indictment said.
The brothers were ordered after their arraignment on Thursday to be held without bond pending trial, according to online records. Their next court appearance is scheduled for May 7.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Proud Boys members describe themselves as a politically incorrect men’s club for “Western chauvinists.” Vice Media co-founder Gavin McInnes, who founded the Proud Boys in 2016, sued the Southern Poverty Law Center for labeling it as a hate group.
According to the law center, Proud Boys members often spread “outright bigotry” over the internet and have posted social media pictures of themselves with prominent Holocaust deniers, white nationalists and “known neo-Nazis.”
Source: NBC News
