1st Proud Boy pleads guilty to Jan. 6 conspiracy charges, will cooperate with the feds
![A pro-Trump mob at the Capitol.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KFULHjv5w2h4KejaagKHeP-415-80.jpg)
Matthew Greene, a former member of the Proud Boys from New York, pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal conspiracy and obstruction charges, a big break in the Justice Department's prosecution of extremist groups that participated in or led the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Greene, 34, also "agreed to cooperate with the government — potentially against other members of the far-right extremist group," The New York Times reports.
Greene traveled to Washington on Jan. 5 with a fellow upstate New York Proud Boy, Dominic Pezzola, and a third, William Pepe, slept on the floor of his hotel room, according to Greene's plea. Greene said he helped program earpiece-fitted handheld radios belonging to Pezzola that Proud Boys used to communicate during the Capitol siege. All three men were indicted on the same conspiracy charges in April; Pezzola and Pepe have pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors say the Proud Boys took a lead role in storming the Capitol on Jan. 6. In his plea, Greene said he and Pezzola were "among the first wave to cross the downed police line" and climb scaffolding up to higher tiers of the Capitol. Greene said he left after police began pushing back with chemical irritants, but Pezzola continued up the steps and, according to prosecutors, used a police shield to break a window and enter the Capitol. You can watch him in a Wall Street Journal video following the Proud Boys' trail on Jan. 6
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
After the riot, Greene boasted that "we took the capital" [sic], and later urged other Proud Boys on an encrypted channel to "take back our country" and "stand together now or end up in the gulag separately," according to court records. Greene subsequently concluded "his personal beliefs and ethics do not align with those of the Proud Boys" and "is anxious to publicly disavow his brief membership in this group," his lawyer says.
Greene is scheduled to be sentenced on March 10. He faces up to 25 years in prison but will probably get closer to 41 to 51 months because of his cooperation with investigators.
Federal prosecutors have charged more than 700 people with crimes related to the Jan. 6 riot, and more than 150 have pleaded guilty, including two others with more tenuous Proud Boy ties and at least five members of another extremist group, the Oath Keepers. One of those Oath Keepers, Graydon Young, pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Is Big Tech getting too big?
Today's Big Question The EU is pursuing anti-competition claims against both Microsoft and Apple
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
'Firing Squad'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
I Am: Celine Dion – a 'raw, heartbreaking and deeply moving' documentary
The Week Recommends Prime Video's film chronicles the singer's 17-year battle with stiff person syndrome
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Donald Trump's biggest legal threats
In Depth It's not just Jack Smith's indictments — the former president is facing a host of separate challenges from around the country
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
What rights does Donald Trump lose as a felon?
In the Spotlight Trump is the first former president to ever be convicted of a felony
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'What my colleagues and I have witnessed is in no way a security crisis'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Why Hunter Biden is in court again
In The Spotlight Republicans expected to make hay from Biden Junior's latest legal entanglement
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Supreme Court rejects challenge to CFPB
Speed Read The court rejected a conservative-backed challenge to the way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Biden is smart to keep the border-security pressure on'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Ukraine cheers House approval of military aid
Speed Read Following a lengthy struggle, the House has approved $95 billion in aid for Ukraine and Israel
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spies
Speed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published