Kernersville Proud Boys leader pleads guilty in Jan. 6 riot, faces up to 7 years in prison

WASHINGTON — Charles Donohoe, 34, of Kernersville, pleaded guilty on April 8 after he was accused of plotting with other members of the Proud Boys, a far-right group, to storm the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral victory. He could spend up to seven years behind bars.

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Justice Department prosecutors said in a court filing in March that Donohoe played a key role in organizing a violent assault on the Capitol and celebrated online after the attack.

While conceding that they don’t have any evidence that Donohoe entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, prosecutors claim he was “heavily involved” in planning, organizing and leading a coordinated assault on the building.

“When it came time to act, (Donohoe) did so without hesitation — advancing past barriers and joining in efforts to push past law enforcement,” prosecutors wrote.

Donohoe, a Marine Corps veteran, was arrested on March 17 in North Carolina after he and three other alleged Proud Boys leaders were indicted on conspiracy charges.

Donohoe is one of at least 20 leaders, members or associates of the neo-fascist Proud Boys charged in federal court with offenses related to the Jan. 6 riots.

Other charges in the March 10 indictment against Donohoe, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl include obstruction of an official proceeding, obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder and disorderly conduct. Prosecutors also are seeking pretrial detention for the other three men charged in the indictment.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly in Washington, D.C., has scheduled an April 1 hearing for the case against the four men.

An attorney who represented Donohoe after his arrest didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.

The two charges Donohoe are facing are conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers.

Donohoe’s crimes carry a sentencing range of 70 to 87 months as well as a fine of between $25,000 and $250,000, the Charlotte Observer reported. Had he gone to trial, he faced a combined maximum sentence of almost 30 years and a fine of up to $500,000. A sentencing hearing will be held at a later date.

Nordean, 30, of Auburn, Washington, was a Proud Boys chapter president and member of the group’s national “Elders Council.” Biggs, 37, of Ormond Beach, Florida, is a self-described Proud Boys organizer. Rehl, 35, of Philadelphia, and Donohoe serve as presidents of their local Proud Boys chapters, according to the indictment.

Proud Boys members, who describe themselves as a politically incorrect men’s club for “Western chauvinists,” have frequently engaged in street fights with antifascist activists at rallies and protests. Vice Media co-founder Gavin McInnes, who founded the Proud Boys in 2016, sued the Southern Poverty Law Center for labeling it as a hate group.

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Cox Media Group