Peter Moloney, 58, of Bayport, Long Island, was arrested on Wednesday, June 7 and charged with assaulting a law enforcement officer, among other federal charges.
Moloney is the co-owner of Moloney Family Funeral Homes, which has eight locations on Long Island.
According to federal prosecutors, he was one of several people who illegally gathered on Capitol West Plaza during the first breach of the Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021.
Moloney was seen wearing a helmet, safety glasses, gloves and a face shield as police used barricades to control the crowd.
At around 1:30 p.m., he took a can of Black Flag Hornet, Hornet and Yellow Jacket killer spray from his backpack and sprayed the officers’ faces and bodies, prosecutors said.
He was also accused of joining other mobs of besieging several people whom the mob believed were members of the news media.
“His actions and those of others disrupted a joint session of the United States Congress designed to identify and count electoral votes related to the presidential election,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
In the months since the leak, a then-unidentified Moloney was dubbed a “black bono helmet” by the Twitter account “TruthMatters,” which posted video He was allegedly shown at the Capitol that day.
Moloney faces multiple charges, including:
- Assaulting, resisting or obstructing an officer
- civil strife
- hit attack
- Entering and staying in restricted buildings or grounds
- Physical violence in restricted buildings or grounds
- Disorderly and disruptive behavior within restricted buildings or grounds
Moloney is expected to make his first appearance in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn later Wednesday.
Since January 6, 2021, more than 1,000 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for offenses related to violations of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 270 people charged with assault or obstruction of law enforcement.
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