Philadelphia Proud Boys leader pleads not guilty to six federal charges for Capitol riot

Zachary Rehl, the Philadelphia chapter president of the far-right Proud Boys, pleaded not guilty today to six charges against him related to the Jan. 6 insurrection, including a charge of conspiracy for what the government says was a planned plot with his fellow Proud Boys to storm the U.S. Capitol that day.

Rehl, 35, remains in jail, following today's arraignment in Washington, D.C., district court, despite a Pennsylvania magistrate judge's decision to release him prior to trial. D.C. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly holds the power in Rehl's detention, saying this morning that he wouldn't make a decision about Rehl's continued imprisonment until May 4.

"However I resolve the motion before me with regard to his co-defendants may affect how I resolve his case," Kelly said.

The motion from the government, which seeks to keep Rehl in prison because he is a threat to the community, says the Proud Boys leader is not remorseful for his actions on Jan. 6. "To the contrary, he has celebrated it," according to the motion.

In public messages, he condemned police officers who defended the Capitol by saying, “They deserve to be tarred and feathered. These cops turning on us are also what they call ‘turncoats.’ Just saying," the detention motion states.

Rehl is a former Marine and the son and grandson of Philadelphia police officers.

Kelly will preside over the case of four Proud Boys defendants, including Rehl, indicted by a grand jury in March. The other co-defendants are Ethan Nordean, 30, of Auburn, Washington, president of his local chapter; Joseph Biggs, 37, of Ormond Beach, Florida; and Charles Donohoe, 33, of Kenersville, North Carolina, also a local chapter president.

A federal grand jury indicted all four men for conspiracy; obstruction of an official proceeding; obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder; destruction of federal property; entering and remaining in a restricted building; and disorderly conduct in a restricted building. The grand jury also indicted Proud Boys leaders Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Charles Donohoe on the same charges.

Known for anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric, the Proud Boys are considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate and extremist organizations.

On Nov. 27, 2020, Rehl posted this on social media, according to the FBI: "Hopefully the firing squads are for the traitors that are trying to steal the election from the American people."

On Dec. 30, Rehl posted a fundraising campaign to collect money called "Travel Expenses for Upcoming Patriot Events." According to the FBI, it raised $5,500 by Jan. 4. He and other Proud Boys leaders were among 60 people using an encrypted messaging channel to plan their trip to D.C.

More:Two Pennsylvania men surrender to FBI for involvement in U.S. Capitol insurrection

More:Who they are: 37 Pennsylvania residents arrested for involvement in Capitol insurrection

Other Proud Boys charged

In February, a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., indicted six other members of the Proud Boys with conspiring to obstruct or impede an official proceeding and to impede or interfere with law enforcement during the commission of a civil disorder, among other charges.

Charged were William Chrestman, 47, Christopher Kuehne, 47, and Ryan Ashlock, 21, of Kansas; Louis Enrique Colon, 44, of Missouri; and Felicia Konold, 27, and Cory Conold, 25, of Arizona, according to the FBI.

Chrestman was also charged with threatening to assault a federal law enforcement officer and for carrying a wooden axe handle while on the Capitol building and grounds. 

They are allegedly members of the Kansas City Chapter of the Proud Boys, a group self-described as a “pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world; aka Western Chauvinists,” the FBI said in a news release at the time of the indictment.  

Kim Strong can be reached at kstrong@gannett.com.