W.Va. Proud Boys Chapter President Pleads Guilty In Riot Case

The president of a West Virginia chapter of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge that he breached the U.S. Capitol during last year’s riot.

Jeffery Finley of Martinsburg entered the plea Wednesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., to entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds on Jan. 6, 2021.

Finley, 29, faces up to a year in prison when he is sentenced July 19.

According to a plea agreement, Finley joined an encrypted messaging group that included only Proud Boys members who were planning to be at the Capitol. A statement of facts from an FBI special agent said Finley wore a blue suit and red hat with a wired earpiece in his right ear when he entered the building.

Once inside, Finley became separated from a group of Proud Boys members and walked down a hallway. He saw members of another chapter inside an office. Finley took a photo of himself near the office door before leaving the building after two hours, according to court records.

In the days afterward, Finley deleted his social media accounts along with photos and videos of himself and other Proud Boys at the Capitol, and directed members of his chapter to do the same, the plea agreement said.