Indictment outlines Capitol riot conspiracy charges against Proud Boys member from NC

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Richard Stradling
·3 min read
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The president of a chapter of the Proud Boys in the Triad helped organize the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, in part by creating the encrypted messaging channels used by others planning what became a deadly riot, according to federal prosecutors.

An indictment describing the charges against Charles Donohoe and three other Proud Boys members from Washington state, Florida and Pennsylvania was made public Friday. FBI agents arrested Donohoe, 33, in Kernersville, where he lives, on Wednesday, on charges that he tried to interfere with law enforcement officers at the Capitol and to obstruct the certification of President Joe Biden’s election in Congress.

In the indictment, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., prosecutors describe a conspiracy inspired by former President Donald Trump’s defeat in November. It cites social media posts from three of the men suggesting that attempts to “steal” the election would be met with violence.

“Good luck to all you traitors of this country we so deeply love,” prosecutors say Ethan Nordean, a Proud Boys chapter president from Auburn, Washington, allegedly posted on Nov. 27. “You’re going to need it.”

In addition to Nordean and Donohoe, the indictment names Joseph Biggs of Ormond Beach, Florida, and Zachary Rehl of Philadelphia. It outlines steps they allegedly took to help plan the Jan. 6 protest and what they did that day.

They include obtaining paramilitary gear and supplies, including tactical vests and radio equipment, and urging Proud Boys members to attend the protest “incognito,” rather than wearing the group’s colors of black and yellow. Prosecutors say the men held meetings and encrypted communications before and on Jan. 6 to plan and coordinate the attack.

The indictment says that after Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio was arrested in Washington on Jan. 4, on charges stemming from an earlier rally, Donohoe expressed concern that encrypted communications that involved Tarrio would be compromised. Prosecutors say Donohoe created a new channel on the encrypted messaging application and took steps to destroy or “nuke” the earlier one.

The evening of Jan. 4, prosecutors say, Donohoe then posted on the new channel and other messaging boards that he had been told that planning needed to stop.

“Everything is compromised and we can be looking at Gang charges,” he wrote, according to the indictment. “This comes from the top.”

By the next day, on the eve of the protest, prosecutors say the Proud Boys had created a new messaging channel called “Boots on the Ground” that they could use in Washington. Eventually more than 60 members did communicate that way, including Donohoe.

Donohoe’s court-appointed attorney from Winston-Salem has not so far replied to an email from The News & Observer on Friday afternoon seeking comment.

Donohoe did not enter the Capitol

The indictment describes what each of the four men allegedly did on the day of the protest. Nordean, Biggs and Rehl eventually entered the U.S. Capitol, it says, but Donohoe only got as far as the west plaza. There, prosecutors said, he interfered “with law enforcement officers’ attempts to control the crowd by assisting the crowd in its final push up the stairs that led to the Capitol.”

As the Capitol was overrun, about 150 members of the Capitol and Metropolitan police departments were assaulted, according to the indictment. Five people died in the attack, including a Capitol Police officer.

The indictment says the four men celebrated the takeover of the building on social media and encrypted chat messages. It says Nordean posted a photo of a Capitol Police officer using pepper spray during the attack with a caption that read in part: “If you feel bad for the police, you are part of the problem.”

The Proud Boys describe themselves as a “pro-western fraternal organization for men,” and its members have been vocal supporters of Trump. The New York Times, which first reported Donohoe’s arrest on Wednesday, says 13 people identified in court papers as members of the Proud Boys have now been charged with crimes in connection with the Jan. 6 riot.

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