Two Proud Boys members who allegedly threw smoke grenades at officers and inscribed “Murder the Media” on a door during the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol have been indicted on new conspiracy charges.
Proud Boys members Nicholas Ochs and Nicholas DeCarlo, also known as “Dick Lambaste,” are have been hit with the charges while serving a four-year prison sentence after they pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding in 2022.
Prosecutors filed the superseding indictment introducing new conspiracy charges on Wednesday.
Ochs is a founding member of the Proud Boys Hawaii branch, The Associated Press reports, and a one-time Republican state House candidate.
Insurrections spar with Capitol police on January 6, 2021 (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
The Proud Boys are a right-wing extremist group that describe themselves as a “pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world, A.K.A. Western Chauvinists.” President-elect Donald Trump famously told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” during a televised presidential debate against Joe Biden just months before the 2020 election. The Proud Boys among those who later stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021 ahead of Biden’s inauguration.
Several members of the group, including former national chairman Henry Tarrio, were charged and ultimately sentenced to jail time for their involvement.
Ochs and DeCarlo raised money to travel from their hometowns to Washington, D.C. for the riot, the indictment claims. As they approached the Capitol, prosecutors claim Ochs said: “The steal is in fact right here and we are going to stop it,” referring to baseless claims that the vote was somehow stolen.
“This is where they are going to steal it,” DeCarlo responded, according to the indictment. “And they called on us. They called on us to stop it.”
Ochs then told DeCarlo: “We’re not supposed to be here,” according to the indictment.
DeCarlo allegedly responded: “We’re all felons, yeah!”
Ochs later threw a smoke grenade at officers defending the Capitol, prosecutors say.
“Do you think they are scared in there?” DeCarlo asked Ochs after throwing the grenade, according to the indictment.
“Yeah, and I f****** love it!” Ochs replied as the two entered the Capitol.
The duo then pointed out Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi’s office to other rioters trespassing inside the Capitol building, the indictment said.
Afterward, DeCarlo wrote “Murder the Media” with a permanent marker on the Chestnut-Gibson Memorial Door in the Capitol, an act which Ochs recorded on his phone, the indictment noted. The two then allegedly posed for pictures in front of it and posted it on social media.
As they left, DeCarlo allegedly said: “It may resume, but the steal is for now stopped. You’re welcome, America.”
As the pair are hit with new charges, President-elect Donald Trump is promising to pardon his supporters who took part in the insurrection, claiming it will be one of the top priorities as he starts his new administration Monday.
Trump has suggested he could start issuing pardons his first day in office and may even erase the federal charges of every person involved.
Almost 1,600 people have been charged with or convicted of crimes linked to the insurrection, according to the Department of Justice.
Ochs and DeCarlo, who are in prison, could not immediately be reached for comment.