Proud Boy rioter admitted lying to feds – but still hasn’t faced felony charges: report

A member of the Proud Boys who was visible in one of the most iconic photos from the January 6 Capitol insurrection initially lied to the FBI about where he was that day -- and his membership in the right-wing group -- according to a report today at The Intercept.

But the feds have only filed misdemeanor charges against Jeff Grace, 61, of Washington -- despite the fact that “the Justice Department frequently charges Muslims with felonies for making false statements to federal agents,” the Intercept states. Identifying Grace, a long-haul truck driver, had been easy for the FBI, it stated:

“Grace was in the background of one of the most ridiculous and iconic photographs from that day: the shot of a man in a red, white, and blue Trump hat waving to the camera while carrying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern through the rotunda. Grace’s bald head was visible in the background.

“You know the guy carrying the lectern out?” Grace would later ask a Texas police officer, in a video Grace recorded and posted online during a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border while he was on pretrial release.

READ MORE: Capitol rioter awaiting trial seen leaving Portland clash with anti-fascists -- and may have broken conditions of release

“Yes, sir,” the officer responded.

“Look at the old man behind him,” Grace boasted. “That’s me.”

It added this:

“After his arrest, Grace told FBI agents that he had lost track of his son, Jeremy, with whom he had traveled from Washington state, during the melee and that he entered the U.S. Capitol without him. He also denied to federal agents that he was a member of the Proud Boys, a far-right militant group that has been responsible for violence throughout the United States.

Here was the response, the report states:

“Federal prosecutors allege that Grace made two false statements to FBI agents: when he said he wasn’t with his son in the Capitol and when he said he wasn’t a member of the Proud Boys. Grace’s son has since also been charged with misdemeanors related to the January 6 riot, after investigators found videos among deleted files on Grace’s phone showing father and son together inside the Capitol.

READ MORE: Capitol rioter busted by the FBI after his father’s botched attempt to delete evidence

“Months after Grace pleaded not guilty to the federal misdemeanor charges, Justice Department prosecutors alleged in court that he engaged in armed clashes in Texas and Oregon. Prosecutors asked a judge to force Grace to relinquish his guns while he awaits trial. “Grace’s recent escalation in which he twice brought a firearm to pre-planned confrontations with others and vowed to continue doing so establishes that the proposed amendment is reasonably necessary to protect the safety of the community,” Mona Sedky, a federal prosecutor, wrote in a court filing.

“A judge agreed and ordered Grace to turn over his guns to local police in Washington state. But the Justice Department has not brought additional charges for Grace’s false statements to the FBI, which would transform Grace’s case into a far more serious prosecution. Making false statements to FBI agents is a federal felony punishable by up to five years in prison, and in international terrorism cases, prosecutors commonly file the charge. More than 150 defendants with alleged links to foreign terror groups have been charged with making false statements since 9/11, often for alleged offenses similar to Grace’s: misleading statements about their involvement in extremist groups or about people with whom they’re associated.”

The Intercept stated that “Grace is in fact benefiting from a long-running double standard in how the Justice Department prosecutes violent domestic extremists compared with extremists associated with international groups like Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.”

The report quoted Michael German, a former FBI undercover agent who investigated domestic extremists and is now a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice

“There is no question that the FBI and federal prosecutors have treated white supremacist and far-right violence far more leniently than Muslims they accuse of supporting terrorism and even more leniently than nonviolent protesters opposing racism and police violence.”