Proud Boys Hawaii founder Nicholas Ochs, accomplice plead guilty for role in Jan. 6 insurrection
Sep. 10—The 36-year-old founder of the Hawaii chapter of the Proud Boys and a 32-year-old Texas man pleaded guilty today in Washington D.C., to the felony charge of obstruction of an official proceeding during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.
Nicholas Ochs of Honolulu was also an "elder " within the Proud Boys, court documents showed.
Nicholas DeCarlo, of Fort Worth, Texas, also pleaded guilty, and wrote "Murder the Media " on a Capitol building door, which Ochs recorded on video.
The Proud Boys are self-described members of a "pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world, aka Western Chauvinists."
Ochs was part of the group's senior leadership. He traveled to Washington D.C., arriving Jan. 5.
He and DeCarlo attended a rally at the Ellipse on Jan. 6 and marched to the Capitol, where they joined others who were illegally on the grounds, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a news release. Both men threw smoke bombs at the police line at the West Front, where officers were attempting to keep the mob from the inaugural stage.
They then climbed the stairs to the Upper West Terrace, and at 2 :23 p.m., Ochs and DeCarlo illegally entered the Capitol through the Senate Wing Doors, according to the. U.S. Attorney's Office.
They also rummaged through a U.S. Capitol Police duffel bag by the Memorial Door, and DeCarlo took a pair of plastic handcuffs.
As they walked away from the Capitol, Ochs said, "sorry we couldn't go live when we stormed the f---in' U.S. Capitol and made Congress flee."
Ochs was arrested Jan. 7, 2021, in Honolulu, and DeCarlo on Jan. 26, 2021, in Texas.
Sentencing is set for Dec. 9. Ochs and DeCarlo each face a maximum of 20 years in prison for obstruction of an official proceeding, and potential financial penalties.
