Two members of the Proud Boys had conspiracy charges added to their indictments by the Department of Justice, the first charges specifying that the January 6th attack was a planned operation, the New York Times reports.
The arrests of Rochester, New York’s Dominic Pezzola (whose Kindle has some very odd publications choices) and William Pepe of Beacon, New York brought the normal charges of trespass and destruction of property.
The conspiracy charges, announced late Friday night, specify that Pezzola and Pepe worked together to obstruct and interfere with law enforcement officers protecting Congress during the final certification of the presidential election.
The conspiracy charges could be the first in an avalanche of conspiracy charges that would like members of military or white nationalist groups who acted in concert to storm the building. It could also be used to charge people who did not take part directly in the coup attempt but who helped buy supplies, recruit others, or pay for travel or accommodations.
Conspiracy charges could be filed for groups from disparate parts of the country that planned for the attack on social media.