A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia has returned an indictment charging a Hawaii man who purports to have founded the Honolulu chapter of the Proud Boys and a Texas man with conspiring to obstruct the United States Congress’ certification of the results of the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, as well as other crimes they committed to achieve that goal. Together, and with others, the two men planned and raised money for their effort, and then traveled to Washington, D.C., where they joined a crowd that stormed past barricades and law enforcement officers to halt a Joint Session of the U.S. Congress on January 6.
John C. Demers, the Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Michael R. Sherwin, the Acting United States Attorney for the District of Columbia; and Steven D’Antuono, the Assistant Director in Charge of the Washington Field Office announced the indictment.
Nicholas DeCarlo, 30, of Burleson, Texas, and Nicholas R. Ochs, 34, of Honolulu, Hawaii, were each indicted for conspiring to commit an offense against the United States, in violation of Title 18, United States Code Section 371, that is, to corruptly obstruct, influence, or impede an official proceeding, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2); one count of theft of federal government property, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641; one count of depredation against federal government property, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1361; and three counts of unlawful entry, disorderly conduct, or violent conduct in restricted buildings or grounds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1752(a)(1), (2), and (4).
The indictment was unsealed this afternoon. DeCarlo and Ochs previously were taken into custody on January 26 and January 7, respectively. The defendants will be arraigned before a United States District Judge.
The indictment against DeCarlo and Ochs alleges that prior to January 6, DeCarlo and Ochs agreed to travel to Washington, D.C., in order to stop, delay, and hinder the certification of the results of the November 2020 Presidential Election. To advance and finance that effort, the indictment alleges, DeCarlo and Ochs, using the Internet, raised funds to support their travel and, on January 5, did travel from their respective locations in Texas and Hawaii to Washington, D.C.
The indictment further alleges that on January 6, DeCarlo, Ochs, and other individuals entered the Capitol building behind an initial wave of individuals who had stormed the Capitol building unlawfully. Thereafter, DeCarlo and Ochs traveled throughout and occupied the Capitol building, depicting their actions inside the building in real time through photographs and videos that they posted to social media. While on U.S. Capitol grounds unlawfully, DeCarlo and Ochs defaced the U.S. Capitol by scrawling onto its Memorial Door the words “MURDER THE MEDIA[.]”
