Johnson County Proud Boy is second in Kansas City group to plead guilty in Capitol riot
A second member of a Kansas City Proud Boys group who prosecutors say conspired to breach the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 has pleaded guilty in the case.
Ryan Keith Ashlock, 23, of Gardner, entered a guilty plea in federal court on Tuesday to one count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, a misdemeanor. The hearing was held via video conference in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
“Are you entering this plea of guilty because you are, in fact, guilty?” U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly asked Ashlock.
“Yes, your honor,” Ashlock said.
As part of the plea agreement, the government dropped several other charges against Ashlock, including conspiracy and civil disorder, which are felonies.
His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 10. He faces a maximum sentence of one year imprisonment, a $100,000 fine and one year of supervised release. He also is required to pay $500 in restitution for damage to the Capitol building. Prosecutors say repairs to the building totaled about $1.5 million.
As part of the plea agreement, Ashlock is required to cooperate with authorities in the investigation.
Ashlock is the fourth of eight Kansas defendants to plead guilty in connection with the Capitol riot. The other three have all been sentenced to two years’ probation, with one of them also receiving 30 days’ home detention and a $2,000 fine.
Ashlock was indicted by a federal grand jury last year along with three other Kansas City-area Proud Boys — William Chrestman and Christopher Kuehne, both of Olathe; and Louis Colon, of Blue Springs; and Arizona siblings Felicia and Cory Konold.
The indictment alleged that the Proud Boys “planned with each other, and with others known and unknown, to forcibly enter the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and to stop, delay, and hinder the Congressional proceeding occurring that day.”
The six were charged with conspiracy; obstruction of an official proceeding; civil disorder; and entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. Chrestman also was charged with threatening to assault a federal law enforcement officer and carrying a wooden ax handle while in the Capitol building and on the grounds.
All except Chrestman were released on a personal recognizance bond pending trial. Chrestman remains in custody without bond. Prosecutors allege that he was a key player in the insurrection.
Colon, described in court documents as a “first-degree member of the Proud Boys,” pleaded guilty in federal court in April to one count of civil disorder, a felony. Like Ashlock’s plea agreement, Colon’s requires him to cooperate with prosecutors and other law enforcement authorities in the case.
Colon’s sentencing date has not been set. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
According to the charging documents, Ashlock spoke to federal authorities at his workplace in Westwood on Feb. 11, 2021. He admitted driving to Washington, D.C., with some members of a Kansas City Proud Boys group, lodging with some of them and coordinating their efforts to march on the Capitol on Jan. 6, the records said. But he denied that his actions were criminal.
Ashlock and the five others facing conspiracy charges were among a large group of Proud Boys that advanced toward the Capitol that day, the documents said.
“The group was engaged in various chants and response calls, including ‘F*** Antifa’ and ‘Whose streets? Our streets!’” the documents said.
Ashlock was seen in photographs and videos wearing tactical gear, including a vest, goggles, knee pads, a respirator and gloves, according to the documents. And like the others in the alleged conspiracy, the records said, Ashlock had fluorescent orange tape on his clothing.
At one point, Ashlock engaged Capitol Police officers at barricades, the documents said, pushing on the barriers until officers were able to repel him by using pepper spray. Though the others eventually entered the Capitol, the documents said a review of video footage did not show Ashlock inside the building.
During his Feb. 11 interview with agents, the documents said, Ashlock told them that he had become separated from the others outside the Capitol at some point, and that after being pepper sprayed by police he decided to leave the grounds.
The Proud Boys — who describe themselves as a “pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world, aka Western Chauvinists” — are at the forefront of the federal investigation into the attack. Authorities have rounded up more than three dozen members from around the country, including several in leadership positions, on charges ranging from disorderly conduct to assaulting a federal officer to sedition.
The rare sedition charges came on June 6, when Henry “Enrique Tarrio,” the group’s former leader, and four other members already facing other charges were indicted for seditious conspiracy in what federal prosecutors say was a coordinated attack on the Capitol to prevent Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s election victory.
In January, 11 members or associates of the anti-government extremist Oath Keepers, including founder Stewart Rhodes, also were indicted on seditious conspiracy charges. Three have pleaded guilty.
Ashlock’s alleged role in the riot has been less visible than that of his co-defendants.
Chrestman appeared at least twice in a video Thursday during a prime-time televised hearing of the special House panel investigating the Jan. 6 attack. The video showed the buildup to the riot as the angry mob of Trump supporters advanced on the Capitol, followed by some previously unseen footage of the breach itself.
In one clip, Chrestman could be seen in tactical gear marching toward the Capitol with a large group of Proud Boys, pumping a flag-wrapped ax handle in the air as the crowd chanted.
In another scene, Chrestman and the Konolds were rushing toward the Capitol steps. Chrestman, still carrying the ax handle, was leading the group.
