Jan. 6 insurrection hearings are underway. What’s the latest on the Tri-Cities area cases?

A pair of Pendleton, Ore., brothers could be close to making a plea deal to avoid a trial in a case tied to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.

Also, legal troubles could be mounting for a Franklin County Republican Party official named in the wrongful death lawsuit of a Capitol police officer.

Oregon brothers Jonathanpeter Allen Klein and Matthew Leland Klein were arrested in March 2021 and both were charged in a six-count federal indictment.

At the time Matthew Klein was reportedly 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.

Jonathanpeter Klein was arrested near Heppner — about 80 miles south of the Tri-Cities.

They entered pleas of not guilty at the time, and were granted pretrial release to third party guardians in May 2021.

But a judge would not release them to the custody of their parents in Baker City because of text messages from the parents advising Matthew after the attack to destroy his cellphone data and to keep quiet about what they had done because “braggers get caught.”

In December, Jonathanpeter Klein was named as a defendant in a separate civil lawsuit brought by the Attorney General for the District of Columbia against the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.

Klein is accused of using a protest barrier as a ladder to help others break into the Capitol building.

Since then the brothers’ federal charges have entered something of a holding pattern while leadership of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are prosecuted.

District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine told NPR in December that the lawsuit alleges that the defendants were “vigilantes, insurrectionists and masters of a lawless mob that conspired against the District of Columbia, its law enforcement officers and residents by planning, promoting and participating in the violent attack on the United States.”

Jonathanpeter Klein was one of about three dozen members of the groups named individually. The lawsuit also included 50 more individuals who have not yet been identified.

He was named based on evidence showing he participated in the attack, using a police barrier to help others scale the walls of the Capitol building, say court documents.

“After pushing their way past another barricade, Proud Boys member Defendant Klein obtained and used the police barricade to help others climb the Capitol walls and gain access to an external stairwell,” said the documents.

Recent filings indicate the brothers may be looking to strike a plea bargain for the federal charges.

A joint status report hearing is set for June 28, where they are expected to update the court on whether they are willing to work with the prosecution to avoid a trial.

The charges in the indictment for both brothers were for conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting, obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder and aiding and abetting, destruction of government property and aiding and abetting, entering and remaining in a restricting building or grounds and disorderly conduct in a restricted building or grounds.

Wrongful death

The other Tri-Cities-area case related to the Jan. 6 chaos is also proceeding. New photos filed by prosecutors in a D.C. chiropractor’s criminal case appear to show a Franklin County Republican Party official in the middle of the melee.

Pasco resident Taylor Taranto and chiropractor David Walls-Kaufman are named in a wrongful death civil suit, filed by Erin Smith. She is the widow of Metropolitan Police Officer Jeffrey Smith, who was attacked during the insurrection and later died by suicide.

Taranto is listed as the webmaster for the Franklin County Republican Party. He told the Tri-City Herald in January that he still volunteers with the organization. The U.S. Navy veteran is a one time Pasco school board candidate.

In December, Taranto asked the judge to dismiss the lawsuit and award him $3.5 million, plus a public apology. That motion was denied.

The most recent filings in the lawsuit indicate it is still in the discovery phase, with deadlines set for Nov. 10.

An amended complaint offers new insight into the alleged attack.

Smith’s lawyers claim Taranto was seen storming the Capitol building with a weapon, most likely a metal “self defense cane.”

A product listing for the cane Smith’s lawyer claim Taranto was carrying shows the weapon weighs more than 2 pounds, compared to a typical aluminum walking cane weighing 12 ounces.

Lawyers also claim Taranto was with Walls-Kaufman as they pushed to breach the Capitol building and later locked arms with Walls-Kaufman to support him while he attacked Officer Smith as the crowd surged trying to get into the building.

The complaint says that while being supported by Taranto, Walls-Kaufman took Smith’s baton and hit him in the face with it, while his protective face covering was raised.

While Taranto has not yet been charged with a crime, Walls-Kaufman was arrested last week on four charges.

Photos included in the arrest warrant for Walls-Kaufman appear to show Taranto with him as he skirmished with officers.

According to NBCnews, Walls-Kaufman was charged with entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

That affidavit includes a photo of Walls-Kaufman, circled in green, struggling with Capitol police, and appears to show Taranto next to him, in the hoodie and dark colored “Make Space Great Again” hat that internet sleuths used to identify him last year.

It is unclear if the officer in the photo with his protective mask raised is Jeffrey Smith.

Other photo shows Taranto walking down the hallways of the Capitol building with the cane mentioned in the wrongful death lawsuit, just a few feet away from Walls-Kaufman.

The photos match pictures of Taranto and Walls-Kaufman included in the wrongful death lawsuit.

The criminal affidavit does not mention Taranto. It is unclear if he also will face charges.

Officer Smith died by suicide after he was scheduled to return to work nine days later.

Smith’s widow said in an Op-Ed in the Washington Post, published in January, that two medical examiners “have testified that post-concussive syndrome and brain injury were the real causes of (her husband’s) death” because the concussion he suffered led to severe depression and suicide.

The widow is asking for $7 million total in compensatory and punitive damages.

This story was originally published June 19, 2022 at 5:00 AM.

Cory McCoy

Tri-City Herald

Cory is an award-winning investigative reporter. He joined the Tri-City Herald in Dec. 2021 as an Editor/Reporter covering social accountability issues. His past work can be found in the Tyler Morning Telegraph and other Texas newspapers. He was a 2019-20 Education Writers Association Fellow, and has been featured on The Murder Tapes, Grave Mysteries and Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen.