Rochester man charged in Capitol Riot also named in indictment against Proud Boys leader

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — The Rochester man charged in the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol is one of several people named in the indictment against the then-leader of the Proud Boys, Henry "Enrique" Tarrio.

The documents allege that Dominic Pezzola became a member of the Proud Boys’ "Ministry of Self Defense" and that the group planned an assault on the building on Jan. 6.

The indictment details encrypted messages talking about taking over government buildings, that Pezzola was allegedly a part of.

Pezzola is accused of stealing a riot shield from a Capitol Police Officer, charging up the scaffolding stairs at the Capitol Building and using the shield to smash a window, allowing a wave of people inside it.

The new indictment alleges that a week before Jan. 6, Pezzola sent an encrypted message to Tarrio, saying "Hey boss, I’m one of the guys bringing the decorative shield down… I’ll be in DC with a few other brothers from New York."

The night before the Capitol riot, the indictment said Pezzola messaged members of the "Ministry of Self Defense": "Anybody need comms programmed hit me up."

The morning of January 6, the indictment says Pezzola was at the Washington Monument with the Proud Boys leaders.

The full indictment is below:

Tarrio Indictment by News10NBC on Scribd

Pezzola’s attorney, Steven Metcalf II sent News10NBC the following statement on Tuesday:

"In a superseding indictment, unsealed today, Dominic Pezzola was consolidated with various other co-defendants. Among the new charges is a charge under a Pinkerton theory of liability regarding an assault committed by a co-defendant.

"The Pinkerton doctrine, a judicially-created rule, makes each member of a conspiracy liable for crimes that other members commit to further an alleged criminal design. As the Pinkerton Court held, substantive acts of “one co-conspirator” to advance the ends of the conspiracy “may be the act of all” charged in the conspiracy. Pinkerton v. United States, 328 U.S. 640, 646-47 (1946).

"Irrespective of the superseding indictment that was unveiled today, Dominic Pezzola is presumed innocent until such time that the government can prove Pezzola guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

"We will continue to advocate on behalf of Mr. Pezzola zealously and vigorously that he was not part of any conspiracy, and that no such conspiracy existed; and regarding the Pinkerton related charge: Pezzola’s new charge of assault alleged to have
been committed by another was “not reasonable foreseen as a consequence” of any plan."