North Carolina Proud Boys Leader Pleads Guilty to Role in January 6 Conspiracy

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Charles Donohoe, a leader of North Carolina Proud Boys chapter who admitted to planning and taking part in the January 6 riot, pled guilty on Friday to felony charges in the attempt by Trump supporters to protest the certification of electoral votes by the US Congress, the Department of Justice said.

"On Jan. 6, 2021, Donohoe was part of a group of 100 or more Proud Boys who marched away from a rally near the Washington Monument towards the Capitol. Shortly after 12 p.m., the group was assembled two blocks west of the Capitol, and Donohoe understood that other Proud Boys leaders were searching for an opportunity to storm the Capitol," prosecutors said. "At approximately 1 p.m., the group arrived at the Capitol and began breaching the barriers surrounding the Capitol grounds. While in the West Plaza of the Capitol, Donohoe threw two water bottles at a line of law enforcement officers who were attempting to prevent the mob’s advance in the West Plaza at the Capitol building."

Prosecutors said that as the events unfolded, Donohoe, other Proud Boys and a larger crowd pushed toward the Capitol, overran law enforcement officers on the stairs, and entered the Capitol building after Dominic Pezzola, Donohoe’s co-defendant, smashed a window. The Proud Boys describes itself as a "pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world, aka Western Chauvinists," prosecutors noted.

Donohoe, 34, of Kernersville joined the group in 2018 and served as president of the North Carolina chapter.

As of January 6, 2021, Donohoe was a fourth-degree member of the Proud Boys, the highest rank within the organization, prosecutors explain. Former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio created a different chapter called the "Ministry of Self Defense" which concentrated on the planning and execution of national rallies including the January 6, 2021 riot. Donohoe led a group in this new chapter with 65 members.

Donohoe has been detained since his March 11, 2021 arrest. He pled guilty to conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers. As part of a plea agreement, Donohoe has agreed to cooperate with the government’s ongoing investigation. He, along with five other people charged, including Tarrio and Pezzola, has been indicted in the District of Columbia on conspiracy and other charges; his colleagues have pled not guilty.

Donohoe can get up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of the conspiracy charge and as much as eight years on the charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers. Both charges also carry potential financial penalties. Currently, a sentencing date has not been set.