A Los Angeles man was charged in an indictment unsealed on Thursday, Aug. 18, for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection that sought to disrupt the presidential election.
Paul Belosic, 45, who lives in the Cheviot Hills, a neighborhood north of Culver City, was charged with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, obstruction of an official proceeding, tampering with documents or proceedings, and obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, according to the indictment.
In addition to the felonies, Belosic was also charged with several misdemeanor offenses, including theft of government property, destruction of government property, and entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds.
Belosic is charged alongside co-defendants including Panorama City residents Daniel Joseph “DJ” Rodriguez and Edward Badalian. The superseding indictment charging all three men was filed in November 2021.
Belosic’s name was unsealed in the indictment on Thursday, and he remains at large.
See also: List: These Southern California residents are accused of taking part in the Capitol riot
Rodriguez was sentenced in June to 12 years and seven months in federal prison. Badalian remains on pre-trial release until his sentencing hearing, set for September or October.
In the fall of 2020, Belosic, Badalian and Rodriguez — along with others — created a Telegram group chat called the “Patriots 45 MAGA Gang,” and used it as a platform to advocate violence against groups and individuals that supported the 2020 presidential election results, prosecutors said.
In the days before Jan. 6, they said, Belosic traveled from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. to participate in the insurrection. On the day of the breach, Belosic messaged the group chat, “We are at the Capitol steps, it is going off, the people are breaking down the barriers, the battle has begun,” according to the indictment.
Belosic joined other rioters in the tunnel on the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol and tried to gain access to the building, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Belosic, along with the two other defendants, entered the Capitol through a broken window on the Lower West Terrace, encouraging other rioters to “Hold the line! If you are going to die, best be on Capitol Hill,” the indictment said.
Belosic is suspected of damaging and stealing government property while inside the Capitol building.
In the more than two years since the breach, around 1,100 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the insurrection. More than 350 people were charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
More than two dozen Southern California residents have been charged in connection with the Capitol riot.
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