- Charles Donohoe, 34, of Kernersville, NC, agreed to co-operate in the government's probe of the Capitol attack.
- He pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring to obstruct Congress and assaulting law enforcement during the Jan. 6 riot.
- Donohoe had faced up to 20 years prison and a fine of $250,000; his cooperation could earn him a break.
A Proud Boys leader from North Carolina pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring with other members of the hate group in the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
Charles Donohoe, 34, is described by prosecutors as having close ties to ex-Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, and as part of his plea he signed a blanket agreement to cooperate with the government in its Capitol attack probe.
He is the second Proud Boys leader to agree to cooperate with the government in hopes of less prison time and lower fines. Matthew Green of New York pleaded guilty in December.
Donohoe will cooperate "fully, truthfully, completely and forthrightly" with the law enforcement authorities "on any and all matters as to which the Government deems the cooperation relevant," his plea agreement reads.
Tarrio and four other members of the hate group remain held without bail on charges of conspiracy and other counts; they have pleaded not guilty.
Donohoe had faced as much as 20 years prison and a fine of as high as $250,000 on a top count of conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding.
But by pleading Friday to that count and a charge of assaulting or impeding federal officers, Donohoe can get 70 months in prison and a fine as low as $25,000, he was told by Judge Timothy Kelly in DC District Court.
The government could ultimately ask for still less time, depending on their assessment of the value of Donohoe's cooperation, Kelly said during a video-conferenced hearing. Donohoe entered his two guilty pleas remotely, from a jail in North Carolina.
The judge said he will consider Donohoe's cooperation at sentencing, adding, "only the government can decide if your cooperation is substantial."
Prosecutors have said Donohoe threw two water bottles at a line of law enforcement officers during the storming of the Capitol.
They also say he helped accused Proud Boy and co-conspirator Dominic Pezzola carry a Capitol Police riot shield through the West Plaza; prosecutors allege that it was Pezzola who forcibly ripped the shield from the officer.
A sentencing date has not yet been set.