KC Proud Boys’ Jan. 6 riot case delayed again, but plea deal reached for former Olathe man

A federal court hearing for two Kansas City-area Proud Boys and two Arizona siblings charged in the Capitol riot has been continued once again, as a plea deal appears to have been reached in one of the cases.

Prosecutors on Thursday filed a motion requesting a 45-day continuance of a hearing scheduled for Friday. The government said it had consulted with the defendants’ attorneys and they did not oppose the motion.

The action is the latest in a string of continuances in the case. The last hearing was March 2, 2022. Since then, the hearings have been pushed back eight times.

The government said one of the defendants, Christopher Kuehne, “has reached a plea agreement with the government and a plea hearing has been tentatively scheduled.”

Kuehne, who lived in Olathe at the time of the Capitol attack, has since moved to Arizona, according to court records. Two other defendants — Louis Colon of Blue Springs and Ryan Ashlock of Gardner — have pleaded guilty, and Ashlock has been sentenced, the government noted.

That leaves William Chrestman, of Olathe, and siblings Cory and Felicia Konold, of Arizona, who prosecutors say hooked up with the Kansas City Proud Boys group the day of the riot.

Chrestman was captured on numerous videos alongside other Proud Boys that day, dressed in tactical gear, carrying an ax handle and stirring up the crowd with raucous chants. Considered by prosecutors to be a key player in the riot, he has been held without bond since his arrest in February 2021.

“The other defendants remain in ongoing plea discussions with the government,” the Justice Department’s motion said.

The government said it needed the extra time “to allow for the continuation of the referenced plea discussions, which, if effective, would preserve judicial and the parties’ resources.”

The additional time “will also allow for the continued disclosure, review, and consideration of the voluminous discovery in this case,” it said.

Judge Timothy Kelly, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, granted the motion Thursday and set the next hearing for Sept. 18. But Kelly said he was done approving such continuances.

“The Court advises that it does not intend to grant any similar motions in the future, absent extraordinary circumstances, and the parties should be prepared to appear for the next scheduled status conference,” he said in an order posted on the court docket.

Kelly reiterated what he said when he granted the previous continuance in May. If plea negotiations were not “fruitful,” he said, “the parties and counsel should be prepared to set a trial date at the next status conference.”

Chrestman’s family and other supporters have long complained that he continues to be held without bond. He is among the Capitol riot defendants incarcerated the longest, even though he hasn’t been convicted. He and other Jan. 6 inmates in the District of Columbia jail, many of them charged with serious crimes including assaulting police, are referred to as political prisoners by former President Donald Trump and other GOP hard-liners.

The six associated with the Kansas City Proud Boys were indicted by a federal grand jury on Feb. 26, 2021. The indictment alleged that they “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.”

Chrestman also was charged with threatening to assault a federal law enforcement officer. All except Chrestman were released on personal recognizance bonds pending trial.

Colon pleaded guilty in April 2022 to one count of civil disorder, a felony, and awaits sentencing. Ashlock pleaded guilty to one count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced in November to 70 days in jail and 12 months of supervised release.

The far-right Proud Boys have been at the forefront of the federal investigation into the attack.

In May, jurors found four leaders — including former national chairman Henry “Enrique” Tarrio — guilty of seditious conspiracy and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, among other charges. A fifth was found guilty of charges that included assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and robbery involving government property.

A sixth defendant pleaded guilty on April 8, 2022, to conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers. Another Proud Boys leader pleaded guilty in October to seditious conspiracy and cooperated with the prosecution, testifying as the Justice Department’s star witness in the trial.

The organization of self-described “Western chauvinists” known for street-level violence and confrontations with anti-fascists at protests received national attention in September 2020 when, during the first presidential debate, Trump was asked if he was willing to condemn “white supremacists and militia groups.” Trump responded that the Proud Boys should “stand back and stand by.”

During a CNN town hall with Trump in New Hampshire in May, the former president called Jan. 6 “a beautiful day” and said many of the detainees “are just great people.” If re-elected, he said, he would be “inclined to pardon” many of the rioters convicted of federal crimes.

Trump was indicted Tuesday on felony charges for attempting to overturn the 2020 election results in the run-up to the Capitol attack. Charges in the indictment — the third criminal case against Trump — include conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.