Federal authorities on Thursday arrested five people on conspiracy charges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, where several of them were seen in the company of members of the extremist right-wing Proud Boys group.
The five are accused of acting in concert with each other to prevent law-enforcement officers at the Capitol from controlling the mob of Trump supporters, and of obstructing an official proceeding of Congress that day.
One member of that group, William Chrestman, is accused of toting a wooden axe handle or club as he yelled at Capitol Police officers who were attempting to guard the complex, “You shoot and I’ll take your f—— a– out!”
The other people charged in the case are Christopher Kuehne, Louis Enrique Colon, Felicia Konold and Cory Konold.
The Konolds, who are siblings, are from Tucson, Arizona, while the other defendants are from the Kansas City area.
Christopher Kuehne as a participant in the U.S. Capitol Riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
The defendants are charged with conspiracy, civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, entering restricted grounds and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Chrestman additionally is charged with threatening to assault a federal law enforcement officer.
According to a criminal complaint, which contains still images of the defendants during the riot, investigators believe “there may be more persons involved in this particular conspiracy than” these defendants, “and the investigation is ongoing.”
The complaint said the five defendants during the riot “not only moved closely to each other in proximity, but also appeared to gesture and communicate to one another both before and while inside the Capitol in an apparent effort to coordinate their efforts.”
The complaint does not say that the five people are members of the Proud Boys.
Photo included in a U.S. District Court Criminal Complaint against participants in the U.S. Capitol Riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
Photo included in a U.S. District Court Criminal Complaint naming Louis Enrique Colon as a participant in the U.S. Capitol Riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
But it notes that several of the defendants were in proximity to Proud Boy members during that day.
It also says that Felicia Konold claimed on video that she was “recruited into a f—— chapter from Kansas City” and showed a challenge-type coin that “appears to have markings that designate it as belonging to the Kansas City Proud Boys.”
The defendants are the most recent of dozens of people charged in the riot, which disrupted a joint session of Congress meeting that day to confirm the election of Joe Biden as president.
Former President Donald Trump currently is on trial in the Senate after being impeached on a charge of inciting the riot, by repeatedly stating false claims of ballot fraud and by urging supporters to fight the confirmation of Biden’s victory.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
The Proud Boys, a Western chauvinist group that has backed Trump, encouraged members to attend the Jan. 6 demonstrations in Washington, including a Trump rally that immediately preceded the riot.
Chrestman and Felicia Konold were seen marching near the Capitol with a large group of Proud Boys, which included organizers from that group who have previously been charged with riot-related crimes, Joseph Biggs and Ethan Nordean, the complaint said.
Chrestman also was seen on open source video interacting with Proud Boys and communicating with Nordean near the Capitol before it was invaded, according to the charging document.
