On September 26, Tom Vournas, 63, of Bradenton, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon and inflicting bodily injury. Leonard Lobianco, 53, of North Port, pleaded guilty on September 23 to a charge of civil disorder, also a felony.
Court documents say Vournas and Lobianco and fellow members of their southwest Florida Proud Boys chapter, "Zone 5," traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend the January 6 festivities.This is Tom Vournas, 62, of Bradenton, Florida. He was arrested Thursday on 6 felony and 3 misdemeanor charges for his actions at the J6 insurrection. #LockThemAllUp #DemVoice1 pic.twitter.com/t8T0LuZWBR
— James Womack🇺🇲🇮🇱🇺🇦 (@retiredtrnman) January 6, 2024
Prosecutors say Vournas and Lobianco met up with 100 Proud Boys near the Washington Monument around 10 a.m. that day and began marching to the Capitol. At 12:50 p.m., the Proud Boys arrived at the Peace Circle, the edge of the restricted portion of the Capitol, and leaders chanted, "U.S.A.," Where's Antifa?" and "Whose Capitol? Our Capitol!" The crowd then surged toward the police barricade, trampled the barriers, and ran past officers toward the Capitol building.
Once the crowd breached the Peace Circle, Vournas, Lobianco, and their Zone 5 compatriots moved onto the restricted grounds of the Capitol. Vournas sprayed pepper gel twice toward a line of police officers, hitting a Capitol Police officer in the face. Lobianco pushed other rioters ahead of him into the police line. The line collapsed, clearing a path to the Senate wing door for Vournas, Lobianco, and the rest of the mob.
Vournas and Lobianco were in the first group of rioters to enter the Capitol while Congress was still in session. Inside the Capitol Crypt, Vournas and Lobianco snapped photos together before leaving via the Senate wing door around 2:30 p.m.This is Leonard Lobianco, 52, of North Port, Florida. He was arrested last Thursday on 1 felony and 4 misdemeanor charges for his actions at the J6 insurrection. #LockThemAllUp #DemVoice1 pic.twitter.com/SmNR1R7FTm
— James Womack🇺🇲🇮🇱🇺🇦 (@retiredtrnman) January 8, 2024
The two men were arrested for their actions on January 4, 2024. U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth will sentence Vournas on January 27, 2025, and Lobianco the following day.
In the years since January 6, more than 1,500 people have been charged with crimes for their actions on that day. Of those, more than one-third have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
Several Proud Boys, including Miami members, have been indicted for breaching the Capitol. Miami's Enrique Tarrio, chairman of the organization at the time, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in planning the riot at the Capitol even though he was not present at the insurrection; he'd been arrested two days earlier on charges related to the burning of a stolen Black Lives Matter flag.
