Lindenhurst man admits participating in Jan. 6 Capitol riot, acknowledges being Proud Boy member
Matthew Schmitz, of Lindenhurst, leaves federal court in Central Islip on June. 22, 2023 after posting a bond securing his release. Credit: James Carbone
An admitted member of the Long Island chapter of the Proud Boys pleaded guilty in a Washington, D.C., federal court Monday to a misdemeanor charge related to his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Matthew Schmitz, 34, of Lindenhurst, admitted knowing there was an ongoing proceeding at the Capitol that day to certify the results of the 2020 election. He acknowledged he was part of a group that "overwhelmed a police line" and shattered a window before entering the Capitol building and disrupting the proceeding, according to a statement of offense he signed as part of his plea agreement.
Schmitz pleaded guilty to entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, which carries a maximum sentence of 1 year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. He will be sentenced Jan. 16 before Judge Reggie B. Walton, senior judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Schmitz, donning a dark green camouflage sweatshirt and helmet, wore an American flag bandanna around his neck, black face mask and tinted glasses as he entered the Senate wing door and walked down a corridor toward the Senate chambers seconds before 2:15 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021, according to court records.
A stream of tear gas turned him around and he made his way out a window in under a minute, the records show. A video submitted in court shows Schmitz wiping down his camouflaged gear with an American flag handkerchief moments later.
In addition to admitting his enrollment in a local chapter of the Proud Boys, Schmitz also acknowledged by signing the statement of offense that he belonged to an encrypted messaging group titled "MOSD — Op," which stands for Ministry of Self-Defense, and was used by Proud Boy members in the days before the Jan. 6 riot to prepare for the event, court records show.
"Some members discussed whether they could fly with their body armor and carry knives in D.C.," the statement of offense reads. "Members of the group were instructed to not wear the group's black and yellow colors on January 6, 2021."
The Proud Boys were designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist organizations. The Law Center described the group as denying any association with the "alt-right" movement, but noted it has shown a history of white nationalism.
The group was strongly criticized by local lawmakers when its members marched in Rockville Centre twice in the fall of 2021.
Schmitz traveled to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 4, 2021, and first gathered at the Washington Monument with "other members of the Long Island Proud Boys as well as Proud Boys from other New York chapters," about four hours before entering the Capitol, according to the statement of offense.
Schmitz was arrested in June 2023. He has remained free on a bond secured by his mother.
Defense attorney Tracey Gaffey, of Federal Defenders of New York, declined to comment.
Disorderly conduct charges against Schmitz will be dismissed as part of the plea agreement, which also prevents the federal government from bringing further charges against him for his involvement in the riot.
Schmitz was one of two Long Island residents charged within a month of each other in connection with Jan. 6.
Peter Moloney, 59, of Bayport, who was accused of spraying insecticide at the faces and bodies of police officers, is expected to plead guilty next month to a felony information charging him with assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers and assault by striking, court records show. At the time of his arrest, Moloney was a co-owner of the Moloney Funeral Homes. He has since sold his ownership interest to another family member, the company previously announced.
In the three years after Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,265 people were charged in nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia for the breach on the Capitol, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.
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