A New York man pleaded guilty Wednesday with fellow members of the far-right Proud Boys for attacking the US Capitol, a milestone in the Justice Department’s prosecution of extremists who participated in the January 6 uprising.
Matthew Green is the first Proud Boys member to publicly plead guilty to conspiring with other members to prevent Congress from authenticating the Electoral College vote. He will also cooperate with the authorities under the terms of his plea agreement.
Greene was arrested in April after a grand jury indicted him in the same case as two other alleged Proud Boys, Dominic Pezzola and William Pepe. He has pleaded not guilty.
Green traveled from Syracuse, New York to Washington, DC on January 5 with Pezzola and the other Proud Boys. Prosecutors alleged that Greene demolished police barricades and was in front of a crowd when police began using pepper spray and other crowd-control measures.. But prosecutors have said they have no evidence of that. Not that Greene entered the Capitol building that day.
After the riots, (Green) engaged in conversations on the encrypted messaging platform, acknowledging his role in the riots, encouraging others not to give up in the fight to take back their country, and comparing the situation to As were present in weeks. For Fourth Generation Warfare on January 6, prosecutors wrote in a June court filing.
More than three dozen people charged in the Capitol siege have been identified by federal officials as Proud Boys leaders, members or associates, including at least 16 defendants charged with conspiracy. In a significant case, four of the group’s leaders were charged with conspiring to obstruct congressional certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory in March.
Green could face a maximum prison sentence of no more than four years, and a fine of $15,000 to $150,000, plus about $2,000 in restitution, at the sentencing set for March. He pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy and obstructing an official proceeding.
Members of the other extremist group have been accused of plotting to carry out a coordinated attack on the Capitol, involving more than 20 people linked to anti-government oath-taking.
Graydon Young, 55, of Englewood, Florida, was the first defendant to plead guilty in the Justice Department’s major conspiracy case against Oath Keepers members. At least four others linked to the oath-takers have also pleaded guilty to riot-related charges.
Members of the Proud Boys describe themselves as a politically incorrect men’s club for Western fanatics. Its members have often been in street fights with anti-fascist activists at rallies and protests. 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.
Police arrested the top leader of the Proud Boys in Washington, Enrique Tarrio, two days before the Capitol riots, and charged with breaking a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic Black church during a protest in December 2020. Tario, who is serving his prison sentence. That case is not charged in connection with the Capitol siege in the District of Columbia.
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