An Oregon Proud Boy member and his brother are going to prison for assisting rioters in gaining entry to the U.S. Capitol building, nearly three years after the Jan. 6, 2021, uprising.
Photos of the Pendleton men assaulting an officer, mounting scaffolding, and forcing doors open to enter the U.S. Capitol are among the fresh information about their violent actions in the disturbance that are included in sentencing records.
In July, the brothers and prosecutors came to a plea agreement.
Judge Randolph Moss of the United States District Court is being asked by the prosecution to sentence 24-year-old Jonathanpeter Klein to 26 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and $3,000 in restitution.
According to the prosecution, Jonathanpeter Klein, a member of the Portland branch of the Proud Boys, assisted the extreme organization in breaking into the Capitol building while attending former President Donald Trump’s Stop the Steal protest.
He was previously identified in a legal action filed in the District of Columbia against important Proud Boys and Oathkeepers members, and it seems that the case was resolved through mediation.
Prosecutors intend to request $3,000 in restitution and a nine-month term for brother Matthew Klein, 28, who currently resides in Baker City. In addition, he will be on supervised release for three years.
According to court filings, Matthew Klein’s lawyers intend to contend during his sentencing hearing that he has already received enough jail time for the offense.
Hopes for pardon
Since Trump, who is now president-elect, made campaign pledges that he would consider pardoning some of the prisoners, many of the Jan. 6 defendants have already started to file applications to have their sentences thrown out or their charges dismissed.
Judges have rejected those motions thus far, stating that they will not make decisions based on conjecture.
Other defendants in the state of Washington have filed a request to withdraw their charges in the hopes of respite, but neither the Klein brothers nor Taylor Taranto, a former official in the Franklin County (Wash.) Republican Party, have done so.
Recently, two men from Pierce County asked that their prosecutions be postponed until after Trump’s inauguration.
Special Counsel Jack Smith used the Department of Justice’s long-standing stance that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted in order to drop allegations of election involvement against Trump himself this week.
It’s unclear how Trump will decide which rioters from January 6th he will pardon, if any. He has stated in the past that he is willing to pardon many of them in the beginning, but he has refrained from guaranteeing pardons for the more violent protesters.
All three individuals from the Tri-Cities area who took part in the disturbance may have their prospects of being pardoned dashed by that warning.
Arrest and riot
After being taken into care by third-party guardians in March 2021, the Klein brothers were freed in May 2021. Since then, they have been living in Oregon on supervised release.
A judge deemed their parents unfit to serve as custodians after they allegedly encouraged the brothers to delete evidence from their phones.
Because of his involvement with the Proud Boys and his attack on a D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer, Jonathanpeter Klein received a stiffer punishment. According to the prosecution, he struck one officer in the head when he flung the lid of an audiovisual equipment container at a line of officers.
The officer believes he suffered a concussion but did not seek medical treatment, according to court documents.
Jonathanpeter Klein s also accused of using a barricade to help other rioters scale the walls of the building to gain access.
New photos show Matthew Klein climbing the scaffolding around the inauguration stage in an attempt to gain access to the Capitol. The photos also show the brothers worked together with others to force open the north doors of the capitol to let in the rioters.
Mathew Klein was also accused of attempting to use a Gadsden Flag as a weapon, though ultimately an assault charge was not included as part of the plea deal.
Prosecutors say the Proud Boys and other related organizations allegedly used flag poles as weapons because they are easy to get into restricted protest areas.
The riot resulted in the injuries of more than 100 officers, according to court documents.
Jonathanpeter Klein pleaded guilty on one count of civil disorder and one count of assault on certain officers. Both charges are felonies.
Matthew Klein pleaded guilty to civil disorder, a felony, and entering and remaining in a restricted area.
They were both facing six federal charges: conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, civil disorder, destruction of government property, entering and remaining in a restricted building and disorderly conduct in a restricted building.
The sentencing memorandums show the brothers have requested to serve their prison time at facilities in Oregon.
Taylor Taranto
Taranto, 38, of Pasco, Washington, is still awaiting trial for his role in the Jan. 6 riots, as well as threatening to kill Vice President Kamala Harris and several other lawmakers.
He was arrested in June 2023 outside of former President Barack Obama s home in D.C., attempting to breach the security perimeter.
Several weapons were found in his van, which he had also threatened to turn into a bomb.
Court documents showed that Taranto allegedly believed he was on a one way mission to hell and had a contract to kill Harris.
He is facing two felony federal weapons charges, as well as federal misdemeanor charges for his role in the Jan. 6 riots.
His trial has been delayed after his assigned public defender asked to be removed from the case last month, citing a breakdown in communication with Taranto.
He s now looking at a May 2025 trial, if there are no more delays.
He is also a co-defendant in a civil lawsuit for the wrongful death of a D.C. Metropolitan Officer, who died by suicide days after the riots.
Medical experts have agreed a concussion allegedly caused by an attack by Taranto and David Walls-Kaufman led to Officer Jeffrey Smith s death. His widow, Erin Smith, has since been awarded death benefits.
Taranto allegedly handed Walls-Kaufman a heavy metal cane during the attack.
–By Cory McCoy, Tri-City Herald
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