A Burleson man who claimed to be a citizen journalist at the U.S. Capitol riots that occurred on Jan. 6 has been indicted by a federal grand jury, according to court documents.
Editor's note: The above video is from Jan. 26, following a detention hearing.
The indictment was unsealed Wednesday afternoon and states that 30-year-old Nicholas DeCarlo was indicted on seven counts.
Those counts include:
- One count of conspiracy
- One count of obstruction of an official proceeding
- One count of destruction of government property
- One count of theft of government property
- Three counts of unlawful entry, disorderly conduct, or violent conduct in restricted buildings or grounds
DeCarlo claimed he was a citizen journalist, and posted to social media before and after the insurrection, according to a criminal complaint. He and another man traveled to Washington D.C. to hinder the certification of the results of the November 2020 Presidential Election, according to the complaint.
The FBI criminal complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, says DeCarlo told the Los Angeles Times that he was a reporter. The FBI said he was not credentialed as a reporter at the Capitol while the LA Times said he had a YouTube channel with less than 600 followers.
The criminal complaint says DeCarlo posted photos throughout the day with Nicholas Ochs. The FBI said Ochs is the leader and founder of the Hawaii chapter of the "Proud Boys."
One photo in the complaint allegedly shows Ochs and DeCarlo smoking inside the Capitol building. Ochs posted the caption "Hello from the Capital [sic] lol."
The complaint says that DeCarlo gave an interview to the LA Times on Jan. 13 where he admitted to being inside the Capitol Building. DeCarlo claimed that he and Ochs were working journalists, but they are not listed as credentialed reporters with the House Periodical Press Gallery or the U.S. Senate Press Gallery.
The FBI agent also learned that DeCarlo purports to be an employee of “MT Media News” which stands for “Murder the Media News,” the complaint said.
In the complaint, there were photos of DeCarlo and Ochs inside the Capitol Building posing beside a door that had been etched with “murder the media.” DeCarlo is wearing a “Murder the media” shirt and hat while posing in front of the door.
The federal indictment also alleges that DeCarlo and Ochs stole a pair of flexible handcuffs belonging to Capitol Police.
Authorities said Ochs was also indicted on the same counts as DeCarlo. If convicted, they both face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and 3 years of supervised release, according to federal officials.