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A funeral home owner from New York is accused of assaulting police officers and reporters during the breach of the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Long Island’s Peter Moloney, age 58, of Bayport, was arrested Wednesday, June 7, on multiple federal charges, including assaulting law enforcement.
Moloney is the co-owner of Moloney Family Funeral Homes, which has eight locations across Long Island.
According to federal prosecutors, he was among several people who illegally gathered on the West Plaza of the Capitol during the initial breach of the Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021.
As police used barricades to control the crowd, Moloney was seen donning a helmet, protective eyewear, gloves, and a face covering.
At around 1:30 p.m., he removed a can of Black Flag Wasp, Hornet, and Yellowjacket Killer spray from his backpack and sprayed it on officers’ faces and bodies, prosecutors allege.
He is also accused of joining other rioters in surrounding and striking several people who the mob believed to be members of the news media.
“His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the US Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election,” the Department of Justice said in a statement.
In the months after the breach, the then-unidentified Moloney was dubbed “Black Bono Helmet” by the Twitter account "TruthMatters," which posted video allegedly showing him at the Capitol that day.
Moloney is facing a host of charges, including:
- Assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers
- Civil disorder
- Assault by striking
- Entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds
- Engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds
- Disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds
Moloney was expected to make his initial appearance in US District Court in Brooklyn later Wednesday.
Daily Voice reached out to Moloney Family Funeral Homes for comment and co-owner Dan Moloney provided the following statement:
“For over 90 years the Moloney family has served our neighbors during their most trying times and has a long and proud history of supporting the law enforcement and first responder communities.
"The alleged actions taken by an individual on his own time are in no way reflective of the core values of Moloney Funeral Home, which is dedicated to earning and maintaining the trust of all members of the community of every race, religion and nationality.”
Since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,000 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the US Capitol, including over 270 people charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
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