Arizona brother and sister sentenced on Jan. 6 felony charge
A brother and sister from Arizona were sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to a felony charge related to their participation in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
Felicia Konold, 29, was sentenced to 45 days in prison, and Cory Konold, 28, was sentenced to 30 days in prison, both with two years of supervised release. They each pleaded guilty in November 2023 to a felony charge of obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder and aiding and abetting.
According to court documents, the Konolds “illegally entered” the Capitol at approximately 2:25 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021, after marching to the Capitol with a group of Proud Boys members, with whom they met up on the National Mall. They then marched to the Capitol chanting phrases including, “Whose streets? Our streets!” and, once they arrived at the Capitol, “Whose Capitol? Our Capitol!”
The Konolds became “some of the first rioters to trample over the toppled barricades,” as the first police line was being overwhelmed, according to the documents. They then made their way through more police barricades and eventually onto the Lower West Plaza of the Capitol, which was a restricted area.
Before entering the building, the Konolds were near the scaffolding erected for the upcoming inauguration, and they came up against a line of police as they were trying to hold a series of barricades, according to the DOJ.
However, the DOJ noted that while “members of the crowd were trying to break through the line by force,” the Konolds and some others “opposed this effort, using the force of their bodies to try to push back the barriers and officers.”
The Konolds eventually entered the Capitol via the Senate Wing Door and proceeded to the Crypt. They witnessed “a crowd of rioters prevent police from closing a large metal barrier, which would have prevented rioters from progressing further” but then moved on to the Capitol Visitor center, and eventually left.
Cory Konold took home a U.S. Capitol Police “riot helmet,” according to the DOJ, and “a family member later voluntarily turned it over to law enforcement at the defendant’s direction.”
When they arrived home, Felicia Konold noted the significance of the riot in posts on social media, according to the DOJ, in which she wrote, in part, “I never could have imagined having that much of an influence on the events that unfolded today. Dude, people were willing to follow. You f— lead, and everyone had my back, dude… We f— did it.”
More than 1,265 people have been charged in connection to the Capitol attack, including 440 individuals charged with the felony of assaulting or impeding law enforcement, the DOJ said.
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