A Long Island funeral home owner has been charged with civil disorder and other federal crimes after prosecutors say he stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 and assaulted police and journalists while armed with a spray can of “Black Flag” wasp and hornet killer and also wearing protective eyewear and a helmet.
In a criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday, federal prosecutors said Peter Moloney, 58, was part of the first group that gathered on the West Plaza during the initial breach of the Capitol. They said he came to the Capitol “prepared for violence.”
They said police body camera footage and publicly available videos show Moloney spraying officers with a thick, white stream of the wasp, hornet and yellowjacket killer. The complaint also accuses Moloney of grabbing an Associated Press photographer’s camera and pulling, causing the journalist to fall down the stairs. Prosecutors alleged that he continued to punch and shove the reporter until a group of people pushed him over a wall.
Other videos show Moloney swiping at another reporter’s camera and pulling on it until the reporter stumbled down the stairs, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors did not say why the charges are coming so long after the Capitol riot, but they have said that their investigation of the uprising is continuing.
The complaint features dozens of screenshots from videos of the insurrection that prosecutors said show Moloney at the scene, along with an unnamed person they refer to as “Colleague 1.” The U.S. Department of Justice compared those photos to images of Moloney on the website of a funeral services company he co-owns, which operates a chain of funeral homes on Long Island. A biography on the website says Moloney became a licensed funeral owner to join his father’s family business.
Moloney faces eight charges, including assault by striking; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; and disorderly or disruptive conduct in Capitol building or grounds….
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