Men plead guilty to felony charge in Jan. 6 attack

The founder of the Hawaii Proud Boys chapter and a Texas man who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and posed for a picture in front of a door on which one of them had written “Murder the Media” each pleaded guilty in federal court to a felony charge in connection with the riot.

Nicholas Ochs, founder of the far-right extremist group’s Hawaii chapter and a onetime Republican state House candidate, and Nicholas DeCarlo of Fort Worth, Texas, admitted Friday to obstructing the congressional certification of President Biden’s Electoral College victory.

They shared a social media channel called “Murder the Media” and initially claimed to be working as journalists on Jan. 6, according to the government.

Federal guidelines for Ochs, 36, and DeCarlo, 32, call for sentences of 3½ to four years behind bars. In exchange for pleading guilty, prosecutors agreed to dismiss several other charges against them. They are to be sentenced in December.

Edward MacMahon, a lawyer for Ochs, noted after the hearing that his client did not injure anyone at the Capitol and said he hopes Ochs is sentenced consistent with others who did not participate in any violence. A lawyer for DeCarlo did not reply to an email seeking comment.

Ochs and DeCarlo attended the “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House in support of then-President Donald Trump on the morning of Jan. 6 and then marched together to the Capitol. The men admitted to throwing smoke bombs at a line of police trying to keep the mob from the stage set up for Biden’s inauguration.

DeCarlo admitted to writing “Murder the Media” in permanent marker on a door in the Capitol building, prosecutors said. The men then posed in front of the door with a thumbs-up sign. DeCarlo also rummaged through a Capitol police officer’s bag and stole a pair of plastic handcuffs, prosecutors said.

Ochs posted on Twitter a picture of the men smoking cigarettes inside the Capitol, and the caption said: “Hello from the Capital lol,” according to court papers.

Ochs is among dozens of members and associates of the Proud Boys who have been charged in the Capitol riot. The group’s former chairman, Enrique Tarrio, and other leaders have been charged with seditious conspiracy — the most serious charges brought so far in the insurrection.

More than 870 people have been charged so far in the Capitol riot.

Samuel Corum / Getty Images 2021 Supporters of former President Donald Trump storm the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 26, 2021, to disrupt the ratification of Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory in the 2020 election.