Pendleton Proud Boy and his brother ready to take plea deal for Jan. 6 riot charges

A Pendleton, Ore., Proud Boy and his brother have agreed to take a plea deal for federal charges related to their involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.

Jonathanpeter Klein is still facing a separate civil lawsuit stemming from allegedly helping his fellow Proud Boys break into the U.S. Capitol building during the riots, as part of what prosecutors have called an organized attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

Key leaders of both the Proud Boys and Oathkeepers have already been sentenced for their roles, including some on seditious conspiracy charges.

Jonathanpeter Klein, 24, is accused of using a crowd barricade to help rioters scale the walls of the capitol as they were breaking in.

His brother, Matthew Klein, 27, was not named in the civil case against the Proud Boys and Oathkeepers, but faces the same individual federal charges after the brothers were arrested in March 2021.

They have been awaiting trial in the custody of third-party guardians since May of that year.

They are both facing six federal charges in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, including: conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder, destruction of government property, entering a restricted building, and disorderly conduct.

The conspiracy and obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder charges are felonies , according to Justice Department news releases .

They are expected to enter a change of plea in July, according to court filings. It’s unclear what the terms of the agreement will be, but attorneys say both brothers have agreed to a deal with prosecutors.

The brothers are among a number of insurrection cases that have been repeatedly delayed for more than three years as federal prosecutors work through the larger organizational charges.

Many of those sentenced already have received prison terms of two to three years with an average sentence of 2 years 5 months, according to an Associated Press analysis.

Of the 1,265 charged so far in the riot, about 750 have gone to court. Of those 750, more than 600 have been sentenced to prison time, home confinement or a mix of both.

Jan. 6 involvement

Earlier filings described Jonathanpeter Klein as an active participant, who helped Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and other rioters breach the Capitol building.

He is a self-admitted member of the Proud Boys, a far-right organization that has gained notoriety for violence at protests.

Court documents say Jonathanpeter Klein was using a police barrier as a makeshift ladder to help others scale the wall of the building away from the main staircase.

“After pushing their way past another barricade, Proud Boys member Defendant Klein obtained and used the police barricade to help others climb the Capitol walls and gain access to an external stairwell,” said the initial complaint documents.

His brother is also accused of breaching the Capitol and attempting to use a Gadsen Flag as a weapon. The Proud Boys and other related organizations allegedly used flag poles as weapons.

When they were arrested in March 2021, the men spent about two months in jail, because a judge found their parents in the Pendleton area were unfit to serve as guardians after encouraging them to destroy cellphone data and keep quiet, allegedly telling the men “braggers get caught.” Pendleton is about an hour south of the Tri-Cities.

Jonathanpeter Klein was later named in a civil lawsuit brought by the District of Columbia , along with more than 100 members of the Proud Boys and Oathkeepers accused of substantial acts during the riots.

Portions of that lawsuit have been resolved for those in positions of leadership, and the remaining defendants are being encouraged to participate in mediation, according to court documents. It is unclear whether Klein is participating in that process.

Taylor Taranto

The Klein brothers were not the only Tri-Cities-area men charged with involvement in the Jan. 6 riots.

A former Franklin County Republican Party webmaster is facing federal charges for both his role in the riots and for threatening lawmakers last summer.

Taylor Taranto, 38, of Pasco, is currently in the D.C. Metropolitan Jail facing a litany of felony and misdemeanor charges after his July 2023 arrest outside former president Barack Obama’s home.

Taranto allegedly believed he was on a “ one way mission to hell ,” and had a “contract” to kill Vice President Kamala Harris, according to court documents. The documents detailed the extent of Taranto’s beliefs that he was waging war against the government.

He was also accused of threatening to use his van as a bomb to blow up a federal building and threatening several other lawmakers for their handling of the Jan. 6 House Select Committee.

Federal investigators found multiple weapons in Taranto’s van. He’s facing charges in connection with those weapons, the threats to use his van as a bomb and his role in the Jan. 6 riots.

Taranto has been indicted on a total of 16 charges . Some of those charges are “aggravators” or enhancements to an existing charge because Vice President Mike Pence was present.

The newest charges were filed in Feb. 2024 as part of a superseding indictment, which means they were added as new information came to light. In all there were five new charges. Three for weapons, one for bomb threats and the last is a felony charge added to his list of Jan. 6 charges.

Federal prosecutors say that Taranto was not the legal registered owner of a semi-automatic 9 mm Scorpion CZ short barrel rifle and was also in possession of an illegal high-capacity magazine.

He also was charged with illegally carrying the weapon and a pistol without a license. High-capacity magazines were banned in March 2022 in Washington state, and the ban was upheld by a federal appeals court last year. They have been banned in D.C. since 2008.

Taranto was documented traveling between D.C. and the Tri-Cities for various protests for much of the 2 1/2 years following the Jan. 6 riots.

He also has been charged with false information and hoaxes for threatening to use his van to blow up a federal building on a livestream in the days before his arrest.

The threats, along with entering elementary school grounds in an alleged attempt to intimidate a member of Congress who lived nearby, and threatening to blow up former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, led investigators to ask for a warrant and begin searching for Taranto.

The last new charge is for felony obstruction of an official proceeding.

He faces several other federal charges related to the riot including: disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building; disruptive conduct related to attempting to stop the certification of electorate votes; and entering and remaining in restricted areas of a Capitol building.

Taranto was denied bail to return to Washington state, after being deemed a risk to the public.

He was also named in a separate $7 million wrongful death lawsuit for his alleged role in attacking a D.C. police officer who later died by suicide. His death was deemed related to injuries suffered during the riot.

Taranto and David Walls-Kaufman were seen grappling with Officer Jeffrey Smith, with Taranto accused of handing Walls-Kaufman a weighted defense cane. The officer suffered a concussion and other injuries from the attack.

His widow, Erin Smith, fought for his death to be recognized as in the line of duty and was awarded death benefits last year.

Recently, the federal judge assigned to that case ordered it to proceed to trial for Walls-Kaufman, but ordered a stay for Taranto.

Just days before Taranto was arrested last summer, he was spotted by a reporter as he was being asked to leave the courtroom during Walls-Kaufman’s sentencing. Walls-Kaufman was sentenced to two months in prison.