Proud Boys member from Rockaway pleads guilty to charges from Capitol riot

A Rockaway Township man pleaded guilty Friday to a federal civil disorder charge for his aggressive role with fellow right-wing Proud Boys members during the violent Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol that sought to keep then-President Donald Trump in power.

Shawn Price, 28, who served as vice president of a North Jersey chapter of the Proud Boys, traveled to Washington, D.C. with around a dozen other members and entered the restricted grounds of the U.S. Capitol where he helped push a crowd forward into a line of officers working to restrain the crowd, according to court documents filed Friday in the case.

Price, a former Hopatcong resident in Sussex County, pleaded guilty to a federal charge of obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, which carries a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison. Federal prosecutors will recommend a reduced sentence between one year and 18 months since Price agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department's investigation into the deadly riot and has accepted responsibility for his actions. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols won't be bound by the recommendation at sentencing.

Under the agreement, Price would be fined between $4,000 and $40,000, which was reduced from the maximum $250,000 fine under the federal statute.

Price was armed with goggles, milk and other neutralizing substances when he arrived to the Capitol around 1 p.m. and filmed himself with a crowd of rioters entering the lower west terrace, court documents show. Price, who uploaded the video to his Facebook account, screamed obscenities at officers, called them cowards and yelled to the crowd "It's go time guys!" as they ascended the northern stairs, prosecutors said in Friday's newly filed court documents.

"They thought we couldn't do it, they wanted to hold us back, now look at this [explicit]!" Price said in his video before calling officers "traitors" and urging the crowd "let's go."

Price admitted around 1:30 and 1:45 p.m., he put on his goggles and helped several Proud Boys members he traveled with push people into law enforcement officers who were attempting to restrain the crowd and holding crowd-control barriers in place, records show. Price later told Facebook users he "led the storm" and was able to breach the Capitol doors, despite "getting tear gassed pepper sprayed and shot with rubber bullets."

Price's attorney, Harley Breite, had argued that his client "simply wanted to voice his concerns about the erosion of what he feels is the American fabric" and went with no plan to cause harm to any persons or property.

Court records show Price has at least four prior criminal convictions dating back to 2014 for criminal trespass, simple assault, terroristic threats and wandering/prowling. He attended several pro-Trump rallies in 2020 as a member of the Proud Boys and sent several videos and images to friends that captured the nighttime skirmishes, including a December 2020 rally that turned violent.

Price has not denied being a member of the Proud Boys, a group with a history of violent confrontations. Members deny claims by officials that they have ties to white supremacy.

Price will have to pay an additional $2,000 toward the roughly $2.7 million cost of repairs to the Capitol as a result of the riot. He remains free from prison while awaiting sentencing in February 2023.

Federal prosecutors have charged more than 880 individuals in nearly all 50 states for their involvement in the Capitol riot, with 412 defendants accepting plea deals and 280 already sentenced, according to data from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, current as of Oct. 6.

A total of 23 people from New Jersey were arrested or charged for their purported criminal actions while at the Jan. 6 riots, USA TODAY reports. Scott Fairlamb, 45, of Hardyston, was the first to admit to assaulting an officer and was given a sentence of 41 months in November 2021, the longest received by a rioter at the time. James Breheny, 61, of Little Falls in Passaic County, who served as the Bergen County coordinator for the New Jersey chapter of the Oath Keepers, is accused of breaching the Capitol doors, despite initially telling investigators he was "pushed inside." He is facing a host of federal charges including violent entry and disorderly conduct. Court records show he has yet to resolve his case, with a status hearing set in January 2023.

Lori Comstock can be reached on Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH, on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LoriComstockNJH or by phone: 973-383-1194.

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Rockaway NJ Proud Boys member guilty in Capitol riot charges