An Oregon Proud Boy member and his brother are going to prison for assisting rioters in gaining entry to the U.S. Capitol building, nearly three years after the Jan. 6, 2021, uprising.
Photos of the Pendleton men assaulting an officer, mounting scaffolding, and forcing doors open to enter the U.S. Capitol are among the fresh information about their violent actions in the disturbance that are included in sentencing records.
In July, the brothers and prosecutors came to a plea agreement.
Judge Randolph Moss of the United States District Court is being asked by the prosecution to sentence 24-year-old Jonathanpeter Klein to 26 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and $3,000 in restitution.
According to the prosecution, Jonathanpeter Klein, a member of the Portland branch of the Proud Boys, assisted the extreme organization in breaking into the Capitol building while attending former President Donald Trump’s Stop the Steal protest.
He was previously identified in a legal action filed in the District of Columbia against important Proud Boys and Oathkeepers members, and it seems that the case was resolved through mediation.
Prosecutors intend to request $3,000 in restitution and a nine-month term for brother Matthew Klein, 28, who currently resides in Baker City. In addition, he will be on supervised release for three years.
According to court filings, Matthew Klein’s lawyers intend to contend during his sentencing hearing that he has already received enough jail time for the offense.
Hopes for pardon
Since Trump, who is now president-elect, made campaign pledges that he would consider pardoning some of the prisoners, many of the Jan. 6 defendants have already started to file applications to have their sentences thrown out or their charges dismissed.
Judges have rejected those motions thus far, stating that they will not make decisions based on conjecture.
Other defendants in the state of Washington have filed a request to withdraw their charges in the hopes of respite, but neither the Klein brothers nor Taylor Taranto, a former official in the Franklin County (Wash.) Republican Party, have done so.
Recently, two men from Pierce County asked that their prosecutions be postponed until after Trump’s inauguration.
Special Counsel Jack Smith used the Department of Justice’s long-standing stance that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted in order to drop allegations of election involvement against Trump himself this week.
It’s unclear how Trump will decide which rioters from January 6th he will pardon, if any. He has stated in the past that he is willing to pardon many of them in the beginning, but he has refrained from guaranteeing pardons for the more violent protesters.
All three individuals from the Tri-Cities area who took part in the disturbance may have their prospects of being pardoned dashed by that warning.
Arrest and riot
After being taken into care by third-party guardians in March 2021, the Klein brothers were freed in May 2021. Since then, they have been living in Oregon on supervised release.
After their parents allegedly pushed the brothers to remove evidence from their phones, a judge declared them unsuitable to act as custodians.
Because of his involvement with the Proud Boys and his attack on a D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer, Jonathanpeter Klein received a stiffer punishment. According to the prosecution, he struck one officer in the head when he flung the lid of an audiovisual equipment container at a line of officers.
According to court records, the officer believes he had a concussion but chose not to seek medical attention.
Jonathan Peter Klein is also charged with assisting other rioters in scaling the building’s walls in order to enter by means of a barricade.
Matthew Klein is shown in new images attempting to enter the Capitol by scaling the scaffolding surrounding the inauguration stage. The images also demonstrate how the brothers collaborated with others to pry open the capitol’s north doors, allowing the rioters to enter.
Although an assault charge was eventually dropped as part of the plea agreement, Mathew Klein was also charged with trying to use a Gadsden Flag as a weapon.
Due to their ease of access to prohibited protest zones, the Proud Boys and other associated groups are accused by the prosecution of using flag poles as weapons.
According to court documents, almost 100 officers were injured during the riot.
Jonathanpeter Klein entered a guilty plea to one count of assault on specific officers and one count of civil disorder. They are both felonies.
Matthew Klein entered a guilty plea to the felony charges of entering and remaining in a prohibited location and civil disruption.
Conspiracy, civil disorder, destruction of government property, entering and remaining in a restricted building, and disorderly conduct in a restricted building were the six federal accusations they were both facing.
The brothers have asked to serve their jail sentences at facilities in Oregon, according to the sentencing memorandums.
Taranto, Taylor
In addition to threatening to assassinate Vice President Kamala Harris and a number of other lawmakers, Taranto, 38, of Pasco, Washington, is currently awaiting trial for his involvement in the disturbances on January 6.
In June 2023, he was taken into custody while trying to enter the security perimeter of former President Barack Obama’s residence in Washington, D.C.
His van, which he had threatened to turn into a bomb, contained a number of firearms.
According to court documents, Taranto had a contract to kill Harris and apparently thought he was headed straight to hell.
Due to his involvement in the Jan. 6 rioting, he faces federal misdemeanor charges and two felony federal weapons counts.
Due to a communication breakdown with Taranto, his assigned public defender requested to be removed from the case last month, which resulted in a postponement of his trial.
If there are no more delays, he is currently considering a trial in May 2025.
A civil complaint alleging the wrongful death of a D.C. Metropolitan Officer who committed himself a few days after the riots is also filed against him.
Medical professionals concur that Officer Jeffrey Smith died from a concussion that was purportedly brought on by an attack by Taranto and David Walls-Kaufman. Since then, death payments have been granted to his widow, Erin Smith.
During the assault, Taranto allegedly gave Walls-Kaufman a hefty metal cane.
–By Tri-City Herald’s Cory McCoy
(c) Tri-City Herald, Kennewick, Washington, 2024
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