FBI raids NC home of suspected Proud Boys leader, part of its probe of Capitol attack

The investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol has again come to Charlotte, with the FBI twice raiding the home of a Gaston County man believed to be a leader of the Proud Boys, a new court document reveals.

The March 8 searches of Jeremy Bertino’s residence in Belmont led to the seizure of a cache of rifles and handguns along with thousands of rounds of ammunition, according to an affidavit by FBI agent Catherine Bowles that was unsealed Tuesday.

Bertino becomes one of at least six residents of the Charlotte region either charged or linked to the Capitol violence.

The FBI is investigating Bertino and other members of the militant right-wing group, who are accused by federal prosecutors of unleashing a planned and coordinated attack on the Capitol to stop congressional certification of former President Donald Trump’s 2020 election defeat.

As of Tuesday, Bertino has not been charged in connection with either the Jan. 6 violence or the raids on his home.

In a text message to the Observer on Wednesday, Bertino’s attorney, Christopher Wellborn of Rock Hill, said, “It is not appropriate for me to comment at this time.”

The FBI raids in Belmont were first reported in March by Raw Story

The riot by thousands of Trump supporters, which was fueled by Trump’s unfounded claims of a stolen election, is linked to as many as seven deaths and the injuries of 140 police officers.

Almost 800 arrests have been made, including at least 20 North Carolinians.

‘We are in a war’

North Carolina’s role in the Proud Boys’ prosecution appears to be growing.

Last month, the North Carolina leader of the group, Charles Donohoe of Kernersville, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers.

Donohoe, 34, is one of six Proud Boys members named in a superseding indictment that was filed last month alleging a nationwide conspiracy to block the transfer of presidential power on Jan. 6. Donohoe is the first to plead guilty and has promised to testify against his co-defendants.

Bertino is not specifically named in that indictment but is referred to frequently as “Person-1,” according to Raw Story. “Person-1” and Donohoe were leaders of the Proud Boys’ so-called “Ministry of Self Defense,” which was formed to plan the group’s strategy for Jan. 6, the indictment claims.

Bertino, according to public records, moved to the Charlotte area from New York state. He pleaded guilty in 2004 near Rochester to first-degree reckless endangerment and was sentenced to five years of probation and an unspecified period of jail time, according to the FBI affidavit.

On Dec. 12, 2020, Bertino is believed to have been stabbed in Washington, D.C., when violence broke out after hundreds of Proud Boys marched to protest Trump’s loss to Joe Biden and battled counter-protesters.

As part of a podcast with indicted Proud Boys leader Ethan Nordean, Bertino discussed the stabbing and alluded to the coming of a violent reckoning, according to the Washington Post.

“We [the Proud Boys] are looked at almost like the soldiers of the right wing. People are looking to us to lead the way,” he said. “ . . . we gladly will step up and take our place where they want us. This stuff is real. We are in a war.”

DNA samples

In her affidavit, Bowles said the FBI found probable cause that Bertino violated the federal ban of convicted felons possessing firearms. As part of her affidavit, the agent asked for court permission to collect DNA samples from Bertino, which she said the FBI needed to tie him more closely to the firearms. The samples were collected this week, documents show.

According to the affidavit, the FBI first served the search warrant on Bertino at his job site at a plumbing supply company on Sunset Road in north Charlotte at 6:30 a.m. on March 8. Agents raided his home in Belmont 15 minutes later.

Three unsecured AR-style rifles and a semiautomatic shotgun were found in a hidden closet in the basement, according to the affidavit. Two handguns were discovered in the bedroom along with ballistic plates, a plate carrier and a rifle scope.

The FBI came back that night for the weapons.

At least five other Jan. 6 defendants live in the Charlotte region, including:

▪ Brad Bennett of Huntersville.

▪ Les Little of Claremont.

▪ Grayson Sherrill of Cherryville.

▪ Elias Irizarry and Elliott Bishai, both of York County, S.C.

This story was originally published April 21, 2022 at 6:25 AM with the headline "FBI raids NC home of suspected Proud Boys leader, part of its probe of Capitol attack."

Michael Gordon

The Charlotte Observer

704-358-5095

Michael Gordon has been the Observer’s legal affairs writer since 2013. He has been an editor and reporter at the paper since 1992, occasionally writing about schools, religion, politics and sports. He spent two summers as “Bikin Mike,” filing stories as he pedaled across the Carolinas.