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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- April 11, 2022: A Proud Boys commander pleaded guilty to criminal charges
Friday for his acts leading up to and during the breach of the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The North Carolina defendant admitted to planning and taking part in the attack.
His and others' activities caused a snarl in a joint session of the United States Congress that was convened to determine and tally electoral votes in the presidential election.
Charles Donohoe, 34, of Kernersville, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers. As part of the plea agreement, Donohoe has agreed to cooperate with the government’s ongoing investigation.
The Proud Boys define themselves as a "pro-Western fraternal society for males who refuse to apologize for establishing the modern world, called Western Chauvinists," according to court filings. In 2018, Donohoe joined the Proud Boys and was elected president of his local chapter in North Carolina. He was a fourth-degree member of the Proud Boys as of Jan. 6, 2021, the highest position inside the group.
According to court documents, Enrique Tarrio, the Proud Boys' national chairman at the time, founded a new chapter called the "Ministry of Self Defense" in December 2020, which focused on the organization and implementation of national rallies. The Ministry of Self Defense's first goal was to arrange for measures related to the Washington, D.C. event on January 6, 2021. Donohoe was a founding member of this new chapter, which grew to at least 65 members over time.
Donohoe was aware that the Ministry of Self Defense's executives were contemplating the prospect of invading the Capitol as early as January 4, 2021. Storming the Capitol, Donohoe argued, would achieve the group's purpose of preventing the government from carrying out the presidential power transfer. Donohoe deduced from the discussions that the Proud Boys intended to achieve their goal by using force and violence.
Donohoe was among a group of 100 or more Proud Boys who marched from a rally near the Washington Monument to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The gathering was gathered two blocks west of the Capitol shortly after 12 p.m., and Donohoe suspected that other Proud Boys leaders were looking for an opportunity to storm the Capitol. The gang arrived at the Capitol at 1 p.m. and began breaching the barriers that surrounded the Capitol grounds. Donohoe tossed two water bottles at a line of law enforcement officials who were attempting to stop the mob's advance in the Capitol's West Plaza. As the events unfolded, Donohoe joined a crowd, including other Proud Boys, in pushing forward to the Capitol's concrete stairwell. After Donohoe's co-defendant, Dominic Pezzola, busted open a window of the Capitol building, the crowd overwhelmed law enforcement officials on the stairwell, continued toward the Capitol, and eventually entered the building.
Donohoe sent messages to the Ministry of Self Defense Leadership Group hours later, congratulating them on their actions that day.
Donohoe was apprehended on March 11, 2021, and has been held in custody ever since. He is one of six defendants indicted in the District of Columbia on conspiracy and other offenses, including Tarrio and Pezzola; the others have pled not guilty. On the conspiracy charge, Donohoe faces up to 20 years in jail, and on the charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding authorities, he faces up to eight years in prison. Both charges may result in monetary penalties. No date for sentencing has been scheduled. After considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory criteria, a federal district court judge will impose any sentence.
Wnctimes by Marjorie Farrington
