Father of Two Children Who Marched With Proud Boys at Capitol Riot Expresses Shock

An Arizona father has described his shock after his son and daughter were charged in connection to the Capitol attack along with associates of the far-right Proud Boys group.

Felicia and Cory Konold have been charged with conspiracy, civil disorder, disorderly conduct, obstruction of an official proceeding and entering a restricted building or grounds after allegedly taking part in the January 6 insurrection.

The siblings were charged along with William Chrestman and Christopher Kuehne of Kansas and Luis Enrique Colon of Missouri. Chrestman, who was pictured wielding a club at the January 6 protest, was seen with Felicia Konold associating with Proud Boys members ahead of the attack.

The pair also marched down Washington's Constitution Avenue in a group with the leading Proud Boys members Joe Biggs and Ethan Nordean chanting "Whose streets? Our streets," according to the FBI.

Speaking to the Arizona Daily Star, the sibling's father said he was only aware of their alleged involvement in the attack after seeing their faces appear on local news station, News 4.

"It's a shock," said Robert Konold, 62, of Tucson. "I'm just a deer in headlights at this point."

Robert Konold said he was aware that the pair were planning to travel to Washington D.C. on January 6, but only to attend a peaceful rally in support of Donald Trump.

"I thought, 'Good, go support the president,'" he said. "Everybody else was going. Young people do that, you know, 'be a part of history' kind of deal."

According to the criminal complaint, Felicia Konold was with Chrestman as the pair attempted to storm through the Capitol barricades and into the building. At one point, Chrestman allegedly yelled at the Capitol Police officers, "You shoot and I'll take your f*****g ass out!'"

Felicia Konold is said to have boasted about being recruited into the Kansas City chapter of the Proud Boys in a Snapchat video. She also said in a January 6 video how she "never could have imagined having that much of an influence on the events that unfolded today."

Speaking about the men with links to the Proud Boys charged with his daughter, Robert Konold said: "I'm just wondering how she knew this person. How did she meet them?"

The father described Cory Konold as a "normal, average fricking kid" and believes he was only in Washington D.C. that day to keep an eye on his sister.

Robert Konold added he still believes the widely disputed claim that it was not Trump's supporters who were responsible for the siege.

"It couldn't have been Trump guys," he said. "I'm thinking it could've been more antifa or you know Democrats wanting to make Trump look bad or something," he said. "No normal Republican would go nuts."