Pendleton Proud Boy and brother headed to prison for Jan. 6 violence. What about a pardon?
Nearly three years after the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, an Oregon Proud Boy member and his brother are headed to prison for helping rioters gain access to the U.S. Capitol building.
Sentencing documents include new details about the extent of their violent roles in the riot, including photos showing the Pendleton men attacking an officer, scaling scaffolding and forcing doors open to gain access to the U.S. Capitol.
The brothers reached a plea deal with prosecutors in July.
Prosecutors are asking U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss to sentence Jonathanpeter Klein, 24, to 26 months in prison, three years supervised released and pay $3,000 in restitution.
Prosecutors say Jonathanpeter Klein traveled to former President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally as a member of the Portland, Ore., chapter of the Proud Boys and aided the extremist group in breaching the capitol.
He was previously named in a District of Columbia civil lawsuit against key members of the Proud Boys and Oathkeepers and appears to have settled after mediation.
Prosecutors plan to ask for a 9-month sentence for brother Matthew Klein, 28, now living in Baker City, as well as $3,000 in restitution. He will also be placed on three years of supervised release.
Matthew Klein’s attorneys plan to argue at his sentencing heairng that he’s already served enough time in jail for the crime, according to court documents.
Pendleton is about an hour south of the Tri-Cities and Baker City is further down Interstate 84 heading toward the Idaho border.
Pardon hopes
Many Jan. 6 defendants have already began filing motions to have their sentences thrown out or their charges dropped, believing campaign promises from President-Elect Donald Trump that he would consider pardons for some defendants.
So far those requests have been denied, with judges saying they will not act based on speculation.
Neither the Klein brothers nor Taylor Taranto, a former Franklin County Republican Party official, have filed a request to drop their charges based on the hope of reprieve, but other Washington defendants have.
Two Pierce County men recently requested their cases be delayed until after Trump’s inauguration.
Election interference charges against Trump himself were also dropped this week, with Special Counsel Jack Smith pointing to the Department of Justice’s long running position that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted.
It’s unclear how Trump will determine which, if any, of the Jan. 6 rioters he will pardon. He has previously said he is inclined to pardon a “large number of them” early on, but has stopped short of promising pardons for the more violent rioters.
That caveat could potentially dash the pardon hopes of all three Tri-Cities area men who participated in the riot.
Riot and arrest
The Klein brothers were arrested in March 2021 and were released to the custody of third-party guardians in May 2021. They have been on supervised release since, residing in Oregon.
A judge deemed their parents unfit to serve as custodians after allegedly encouraging the brothers to delete evidence from their phones.
Jonathanpeter Klein’s sentence is harsher because of his role as a member of the Proud Boys, as well as for attacking a D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer. Prosecutors say he threw an audio visual equipment container lid at a line of officers, hitting one in the head.
The officer believes he suffered a concussion, but did not seek medical treatment, according to court documents.
He’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 and $2.9 million in damages, according to court documents.
Jonathan 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, 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 Kalorama neighborhood 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 from 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.
This story was originally published November 26, 2024 at 1:15 PM.
