Proud Boy who flipped is a game-changer for investigators going 'up the chain' after Jan. 6 organizers: legal experts
In an interview with Vice News, two former prosecutors explained the importance of a key member of the Proud Boys taking a plea deal in exchange for providing more information about lead-up to the Jan. 6 insurrection, saying it's a game-changer for investigators.
Last week, 34-year-old Charles Donohoe became the first Proud Boys leader to plead guilty with regard to charges of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and assaulting an officer, and he agreed to cooperate in exchange for a lighter sentence.
According to former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade who oversaw the Eastern District of Michigan from 2010 to 2017, Donohoe's plea deal is "a significant development in the case against the Proud Boys defendants."
To date, investigators were putting their case together based upon texts and online communications, but having a higher-ranking Proud Boys member providing details will make additional prosecutions easier.
“His agreement to cooperate means that any trial against other Proud Boys members will include his testimony, which will be important evidence for the prosecution," McQuade explained before adding his cooperation might "signal his ability to provide information up the chain to organizers and leaders who planned the attack.”
“We are learning that the attack on the Capitol was not a spontaneous event for all participants, but instead was planned by at least two groups, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers,” McQuade elaborated. “Investigators will want to know how high up that planning and coordination went.”
According to Vice's Tess Owens, "Court documents filed in the case so far reveal that prosecutors planned to rely heavily on group chats between the alleged conspirators in the weeks running up to the riot, as well as video evidence from the day itself."
According to Fordham law professor Bruce Green, "From the prosecutors point of view, they have a witness who is likely to be quite credible, who can put the pieces together in a way that is much more compelling than if they were just dealing with communications."
"In a statement of offense signed by Donohoe, he claimed he was heavily involved in exclusive planning chats in the weeks running up to Jan. 6. He said that Tarrio recruited him around Dec. 20, 2020, to join a special new leadership chapter of the Proud Boys called the Ministry of Self Defense (MOSD)," Vice is reporting." Donohoe recalled that he was 'privileged' to be included in this group and was invited into a group chat on an encrypted messaging app that included Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl —all high-profile Proud Boy leaders who are now his co-defendants."
Vice's Owens added, "Under the terms of Donohoe’s deal, he’s looking at around six years in prison (including the year he’s already served in jail). Without that deal, he’d be facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, and a maximum of three years for assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement officers."
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