Feb. 12 (UPI) — The Justice Department unsealed conspiracy charges against five people associated with the Proud Boys and asked that a member of the Oath Keepers be held without bond in filings related to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol Thursday.
Authorities arrested William Chrestaman, Louis Enrique Colon and Christopher Kuehne in Kansas City on Thursday while taking brother and sister Cory Konold and Felicia Konold into custody in Arizona, the Justice Department said.
The five were charged with conspiracy, civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
The criminal complaint states that the group “moved closely to each other” and appeared to “gesture and communicate to one another” both outside and inside the Capitol as they allegedly led rioters through the building.
It also states that Kuehne carried orange fluorescent tape which they all placed on their clothing and gear, which included tactical-style gear including helmets and gloves. Chrestman was also seen with a respirator and a wooden club or ax handle disguised as a flag.
More than a dozen members of the Proud Boys — an all-male group known to engage in violent crime and promote an ideology of misogyny and White nationalism — have so far been charged in relation to the insurrection.
Also Thursday, the Justice Department issued a memo requesting that Jessica Watkins, a member of the Oath Keepers militia, be held without bond as she undertook “extensive efforts” to recruit and train members of the militia for the riot.
The memo notes that Watkins coordinated a “quick reaction force outside of Washington, D.C., and that a search of her home in Ohio found “protective equipment and battle gear,” as well as respirators, pool cues modified to baton size, zip/cable ties and recipes to make destructive devices.
“Watkins and her co-conspirators formed a subset of the most extreme insurgents that plotted then tried to execute a sophisticated plan to forcibly stop the results of a presidential election from taking effect,” the Justice Department said. “And she did this in coordination and in concert with virulently anti-government militia members.”
Watkins was one of three members of the Oath Keepers charged last month with storming the Capitol.
