2 conspiracy suspects in U.S. Capitol breach released to E. Oregon. But not to their parents

Two Oregon brothers have been released from custody — one to the Pendleton area — while awaiting trial on allegations they breached the U.S. Capitol and disrupted Congress.

Jonathanpeter A. Klein and Matthew L. Klein had been locked up in federal custody in Portland for two months following their March 23 arrests.

But earlier this month, attorneys for the two men separately convinced a judge that, if each was released to a separate “third-party custodian,” they would not leave Oregon, wouldn’t pose a danger to others in the community and would attend future court hearings.

The lawyers also compared their clients’ alleged actions to some of the more “violent and disturbing” cases out of the Jan. 6 insurrection, and noted that neither has any prior convictions.

“This was a mass demonstration and the participants were encouraged by the President of the United States (Donald Trump) to march upon the Capitol,” Steven R. Kiersh, a Washington, D.C., lawyer representing Matthew Klein, wrote in his initial motion seeking his client’s release.

Matthew Klein “has significant defenses to the charges related to his freedom of assembly, freedom of speech and there was no express prohibition against his entering the United States Capitol, which is a public institution.”

Michelle Sweet, a Portland assistant federal public defender, said in her own motion for Jonathanpeter Klein that some of his participation in the Jan. 6 events was “completely appropriate and permitted by the Constitution,” while other actions are alleged by the government and not yet proven.

Sweet described it as “a moment in history that has now passed. In the last four months, the events have not been repeated, nor is there another planned presidential call to duty for protesters and supporters of former President Trump to present themselves for a perceived patriotic required action.”

Matthew Klein sought release to his parents’ home in Baker City in Eastern Oregon. His mother also was willing to move to the relative’s Sherwood farm so she could supervise her son’s activities.

But federal prosecutors said the parents are “ill-suited” to be responsible because text messages show they advised their other accused son in the days after to keep quiet about what they had done because “braggers get caught” and to destroy his cellphone’s data.

Jonathanpeter Klein, 21, and Matthew Klein, 24, were the first Oregon residents to be charged in the Capitol riot.

Captured on video

They are accused of twice forcing their way into the Capitol in defiance of law enforcement, and helping other rioters gain access. They wore goggles and other protective clothing, and were captured both on video and in pictures.

The groups were trying to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 Electoral College vote, which declared Joe Biden as president and Kamala Harris as vice president.

The brothers had flown from Portland to Philadelphia, Penn., on Jan. 4, and returned to Oregon on Jan. 8.

Jonathanpeter Klein is a self-identified Proud Boys member. He later admitted in an interview with FBI agents that he was in the nation’s capital for the Trump rally, but denied being at the Capitol or the person in an FBI-featured photograph.

Prosecutors described him in documents as “a dangerous powder keg, who is prepared to forcibly oppose and engage in violence against those with whom he disagrees, including the government of the United States.”

The Kleins were pictured in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5 wearing Proud Boys gear and American flag neck gaiters covering half their faces. That photograph was featured on an FBI website and used to identify people who participated in the Jan. 6 violence.

Following their arrests, the Klein brothers were ordered held without bond by U.S. Marshals in a Portland facility.

Federal prosecutors argued that the destruction of property is not only a crime of violence, but a crime of terrorism when its purpose is to influence “the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion.”

Home detention

Matthew Klein was released May 14 on home detention with electronic monitoring, to live with a couple in Baker City, Ore. One half of the couple was a state corrections officer and the other is retired from a job in Baker County government.

Jonathanpeter Klein was released May 20 to a relative, who then immediately drove him across the state to Umatilla County to live with long-time family friends.

His lawyer said he “anticipates finding employment quickly.”

Their parents are Christian missionaries who home-schooled their children through high school, court documents said.

The brothers spent much of their youth living outside the country, with Jonathanpeter Klein saying in a document that he moved back to the United States with his family in February 2020 just before the coronavirus pandemic hit.

The third-party guardians were approved by both Pretrial Services Agency and the judge, and promised to remove all firearms from their homes and submit a weekly document saying the Kleins are complying with their conditions of release.

Home detention means they are restricted to their approved residence at all times except for when at work, school, a religious service, and a medical or legal appointment.

Their release conditions include:

▪ Stay out of Washington, D.C., except for when an in-person court appearance is required.

▪ Avoid all contact with co-defendants and key witnesses.

▪ Not use any alcohol or drugs.

▪ Stay off any social media.

Conspiracy charges

Matthew Klein reportedly is a third-year student attending George Fox University in Newberg, majoring in computer science. He was living with relatives on a farm in Sherwood, southwest of Portland, before his arrest.

He was given permission to have limited internet access for educational and work purposes relating to computer sciences self-study, according to court documents.

Jonathanpeter Klein was arrested near Heppner — about 80 miles south of the Tri-Cities — four days after an Oregon federal grand jury returned the indictments against the brothers.

Each brother faces charges of: conspiracy; obstruction of an official proceeding; obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder; destruction of government property; entering a restricted building; and disorderly conduct.

U.S. District Court Judge Randolph D. Moss noted in a written order, before ultimately granting the brothers’ release, that the alleged crimes “were undoubtedly serious” and “posed an acute risk to the well-being of many innocent people.”

“(Matthew) Klein and other rioters, moreover, succeeded in their efforts of using brute force to delay (if not stop) the most revered of democratic processes from proceeding,” wrote Moss. “This was not an exercise of free speech but, to the contrary, an effort to quash the collective voice of the American electorate.”

This story was originally published June 1, 2021 at 5:00 AM.