A prison sentence was handed down to a Florida man in connection with two felonies arising from his involvement in the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The actions of Gilbert Fonticoba, 49, from Hialeah, Florida, and others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to validate and tally the electoral votes of the 2020 presidential election.
U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Kelly sentenced Fonticoba to 48 months in prison with an additional 36 months of supervised release. Following a stipulated bench trial on Oct. 6, 2023, Fonticoba was convicted of obstruction of an official proceeding and civil disorder, both felonies.
Court documents reveal that Fonticoba, affiliated with the “Vice City” chapter of the Proud Boys in Miami since 2019, actively participated in a coordinated effort to impede the certification of the Electoral College on Jan. 6, 2021.
In the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, a meeting of approximately 100 Proud Boys members, including Fonticoba, was convened near the Washington Monument at 10 a.m. Fonticoba, following instructions, refrained from displaying any Proud Boys colors. However, concealed beneath his black jacket, Fonticoba sported a distinctive t-shirt bearing the phrase “ENRIQUE TARRIO DID NOTHING WRONG!”
Around 10 a.m., the Proud Boys group, led by senior leaders and with Fonticoba near the front, departed the rally, embarking on an eastward march towards the Capitol. Approximately 12:45 p.m., the group assembled into a column and advanced towards the entrance to Capitol grounds near the Peace Monument. Shortly after their arrival, the group, along with the crowd, surged towards a police barricade, and Fonticoba was among the initial wave of rioters advancing onto the Capitol grounds, overwhelming a police line.
Around 12:54 p.m., having crossed trampled police barricades, Fonticoba, along with several co-defendants, ascended the Pennsylvania walkway on the restricted Capitol grounds. In the company of Joe Biggs, a Proud Boys leader, Fonticoba was recorded advancing towards the Capitol. Fonticoba joined Biggs and others in a stack formation to move to the forefront of the mob.
Shortly after arriving at the front, Fonticoba surged up a flight of concrete stairs with fellow rioters, initiated by another Proud Boys associate, Daniel Lyons Scott, who assaulted two officers. Fonticoba breached the Capitol building with other Proud Boys at around 2:14 p.m., less than 90 seconds after the initial breach, through the Senate Wing door. Five minutes later, he posted on Telegram, “We just stormed the capital [sic].”
Post-riot, Fonticoba celebrated the events in a Baltimore hotel room with senior Proud Boys leaders, including Enrique Tarrio. During a phone conversation, he enthusiastically declared, “We breached the f***in’ Capitol hill, brah. We breached the f***in’ Capitol building, brah.”
Fonticoba was apprehended by the FBI on Oct. 26, 2021, in Miami. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section prosecuted the case, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. The FBI’s Miami and Washington Field Offices conducted the investigation, supported by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department. Over 1,265 individuals have been charged in the 36 months since Jan. 6, 2021, with the investigation ongoing.
Tips can be reported to 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or tips.fbi.gov.
