Proud Boys Hawaii chapter founder pleads guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding

The founder of the Hawaii chapter of the far-right group Proud Boys and one other man pleaded guilty on Friday to obstruction of an official proceeding for their actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said in a release that 36-year-old Nicholas Ochs of Honolulu and 32-year-old Nicholas DeCarlo of Fort Worth, Texas, could face up to 20 years in prison, plus financial penalties, for their actions. 

Court documents say that Ochs, who is the founder of the Proud Boys’ Hawaii chapter and held a senior leadership role responsible for approving new chapters, traveled from Honolulu to Washington, D.C., the day before the attack happened and stayed in a hotel room with DeCarlo. 

The two men attended former President Trump’s rally at the Ellipse that preceded the riot and then joined others who illegally walked on the Capitol grounds. They threw smoke bombs at police who were attempting to hold the rioters back, according to the release. 

They climbed the stairs to the Upper West Terrace and illegally entered the building, staying there for about 40 minutes. They filmed themselves smoking cigarettes while in the building, the release states. 

DeCarlo then wrote “Murder the Media” with a marker on a door of the Capitol, which Ochs recorded. They went through a U.S. Capitol Police duffel bag near the door, taking a pair of plastic handcuffs. 

Ochs was arrested the day after the insurrection, and DeCarlo was arrested later that month. They will be sentenced on Dec. 9. 

More than 870 people from almost all 50 states have been arrested for crimes related to the Jan. 6 insurrection, and more than 265 have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, according to the release. 

Many members of the Proud Boys have been charged with crimes for actions they took on Jan. 6, including five top leaders who have been charged with seditious conspiracy.