A Proud Boy member accused of breaching the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and then boasting about it to his mother and other Facebook users was arrested Tuesday in New Jersey.
Shawn Price, 26, of Rockaway, New Jersey, is a self-described member of the Proud Boys and held a leadership position in the extremist group’s northern New Jersey chapter, according to court documents. He was charged with six federal offenses over his alleged role in the attack and made his first court appearance in his home state Tuesday afternoon.
In the months before Donald Trump supporters led an assault on the Capitol to try to stop the counting of Electoral College votes for Joe Biden, Price sent messages to various Facebook users in which he discussed his affiliation to the Proud Boys, his attendance at various “Make America Great Again” events and his intention to visit Washington on the day of the vote certification, an FBI agent said in an affidavit.
Price was seen in photos taken at the Capitol’s lower west terrace as a crowd pushed toward police as officers fired chemical irritants, the affidavit said. Price reportedly wore goggles.
In messages to another Facebook user identified as L.H.P., whom law enforcement understood to be his mother, Price wrote that he “led the storm” of the Capitol. Price allegedly sent her a video in which he calls U.S. Capitol Police “fucking scumbags” for shooting chemical irritants at the mob on the grounds of the Capitol. The Facebook user identified as Price’s mother asked him when he was heading home and told him to “get out of there” and to “try washing... with baby shampoo” to help with the pepper spray.
Price is facing misdemeanor charges along with felony charges for obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder and obstruction of justice.
“Fuck you assholes! It’s go time, guys! Fuck you! Fucking shoot at us! Fuck you!” he reportedly yelled at the officers trying to maintain control of the Capitol. “You fucking coward, fuck you . . . fuck you! They’re dead, they’re dead!”
He allegedly sent videos in which he can be heard making those and similar remarks, including one selfie-style video, to numerous people.
“We did it bro we took it the fuck ober . . .Over . . . We are inside the capitol now.” Price reportedly messaged an associate on Jan. 6. “We took it buddy . . . Me and 3 others stormed it and no one else would until.we started then everyome stormed.”
Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was arrested before the Capitol attack on Jan. 6 and was charged with helping destroy a Black Lives Matter banner during a prior pro-Trump event in D.C. and for possessing high-capacity gun magazines. The afternoon before the the attack, a judge ordered Tarrio to stay away from D.C., but it wasn’t enough to keep members of the Proud Boys from participating in the attack.
Several Proud Boys, including right-wing media personality Joe Biggs, have been charged in connection with the Capitol attack. Proud Boys discussed “blending in” during the riot, leading many of their fellow Trump supporters under the mistaken impression they were anti-fascist activists, known as antifa. Last week, a woman who told a videographer she hoped to “find me a Proud Boy” was arrested in connection with the Capitol attack.
Federal authorities are closing in on 500 arrests in connection with the Capitol attack, and there are nearly 300 suspects pictured on the FBI’s Capitol website who are still being sought. That’s not even the entire universe of suspects: The FBI, which told Congress that nearly 2,000 people were believed to be involved in the Capitol breach, has continued to seek the public’s help in identifying those who attacked police on Jan. 6. They’ve received hundreds of thousands of tips.
The FBI and the Justice Department have requested additional resources to deal with the surge in cases and domestic terrorism investigations because of the Capitol attack, and the FBI said that “narratives of fraud in the recent general election” and “the emboldening impact of the violent breach of the U.S. Capitol” will likely spur more domestic terrorist attacks this year.