Oregon brothers plead guilty to felony charge stemming from Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol breach

Two brothers from Pendleton pleaded guilty Wednesday to civil disorder and other charges stemming from their breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Jonathanpeter Allen Klein, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of civil disorder, a felony, and one count of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers, a misdemeanor. Matthew Leland Klein, 27, pleaded guilty to civil disorder and a misdemeanor charge of entering and remaining in a restricted building.

The two men will be sentenced in the District of Columbia on Nov. 15.

According to court documents, the brothers traveled from Portland to Washington, D.C., to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally and then made their way toward the Capitol building and entered into the restricted perimeter before separating and entering the Capitol.

Jonathanpeter Klein entered the Capitol at 2:16 p.m. through a door on the northwest side and his older brother followed two minutes later, according to prosecutors.

The Kleins were among the first group to breach the Capitol, after Matthew Klein helped others ascend a wall to gain access to a stairwell leading to the Capitol’s Upper West Terrace, according to prosecutors.

After leaving, they later helped wrench open a secure door on the Capitol’s north side as part of a second or third wave of attacks on the Capitol, showing a “reckless disregard for others and the danger posed” to law enforcement officers trying to fend off the rioters, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher K. Veatch.

As Metropolitan Police Department officers were attempting to move through the crowd, Jonathanpeter Klein threw a piece of audio-visual equipment, striking an officer in his helmet, according to prosecutors.

The brothers bought airline tickets on Dec. 29, 2020, to fly to Philadelphia on Jan. 4, 2021, and then to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, 2021, according to the indictment. They paid cash for the tickets.

Once inside the Capitol, Jonathanpeter Klein engaged in “a celebratory exchange with an identified member of the Proud Boys” and greeted another person, saying “proud of your (expletive) boy!” the indictment said.

When federal officers responded, Matthew Klein put on protective goggles, stood directly in front of the door and advanced toward them holding a Gadsden flag affixed to a flagpole to interfere with police efforts to disperse the crowd, according to the indictment. Officers sprayed what appeared to be pepper spray in Matthew Klein’s face, the indictment said.

An examination of a mobile device associated with Jonathanpeter Klein suggested he was in and around the Capitol building on Jan. 6 for about two and a half hours, according to the indictment.

Both had notified others of their plan to attend the rally in D.C., according to court records.

On Dec. 27, 2020, Jonathanpeter Klein told his employer that he wanted to take time off in the new year, from Jan. 4 through Jan. 8, so he and his brother could attend the “Stop the Steal Rally in DC,” according to the indictment.

In an Instagram message, Matthew Klein told another person that he was planning to travel to D.C.: “Yep! Got the time off and am going with one of my bro’s. stoked af,” according to court records.

Prosecutors alleged that Jonathanpeter Klein coordinated the trip to Washington, D.C., with his brother, had proclaimed his allegiance to the Proud Boys, wore tactical gear and carried paintball guns and batons to prior rallies in Oregon.

A prosecutor previously presented to a judge images of the Klein brothers attending a Sept. 7, 2020, demonstration outside Oregon’s Capitol in Salem, a Sept. 26 , 2020, Proud Boy rally in Portland’s Delta Park and photos of the brothers at a rally in support of President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., just a day before the Jan. 6, 2021, breach.

The FBI arrested the two men in Oregon on March 23, 2021.

More than 1,470 people have been charged in the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 530 people charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation is ongoing, according to federal prosecutors.

The Klein brothers were living with their parents in South America until February 2020. Their parents lived as missionaries in Argentina and Chile. Jonathanpeter Klein and his brother were home schooled when they were younger, a defense lawyer shared in court after their arrest. The Klein family returned to Oregon on Feb. 24, 2020, and the brothers’ parents were living in Baker City at the time of the brothers’ arrest.

-- Maxine Bernstein covers federal court and criminal justice. Reach her at 503-221-8212, mbernstein@oregonian.com, follow her on X @maxoregonian, or on LinkedIn.

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