Brian Healion : Delaware County Proud Boy Admits Role in Insurrection

WASHINGTON D.C. – A man from Upper Darby, who is a self-proclaimed Proud Boy, has pleaded guilty in federal court for his involvement in the attempted insurrection at the nation’s Capitol on January 6, 2021. Brian Healion, aged 33, residing in the 400 block of Timberlake Road, entered a guilty plea to a felony civil disorder offense before U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly of the District of Columbia.

Healion’s sentencing is scheduled for June 13, with a plea agreement indicating a sentencing range of zero to eight months and a fine ranging from £2,000 to £20,000. Additionally, Healion has agreed to pay £2,000 in restitution towards the approximate £2.9 million in damages caused to the Capitol during the events of that day.

Initially charged in December 2021 with unlawful entry on restricted buildings and grounds, violent entry, and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, Healion will have the other charges dismissed as part of the plea deal.

Two other individuals from Philadelphia, Isaiah Giddings and Freedom Vy, faced similar charges in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. All three defendants were identified as members of the Proud Boys, a right-wing group heavily implicated in the January 6 insurrection.

Healion travelled to Washington to protest against the certification of the Electoral College vote for the 2020 presidential election by Congress. He joined around 100 other Proud Boys at the Washington Monument on the morning of January 6 and followed the group’s leadership, including Philadelphia Proud Boys President Zachary Rehl, in a march towards the Capitol.

As the group passed U.S. Capitol Police officers around 11:28 a.m., they taunted and threatened them, shouting “Treason” and warning the officers not to oppose them, as per a release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Rehl was also arrested for his involvement and later convicted on charges of seditious conspiracy and related offences, receiving a 15-year prison sentence in May.

Investigations revealed communication between Healion, Giddings, and Vy, with messages indicating coordination for travel to the Capitol on January 5. Records from the Darcy Hotel in Washington showed Rehl checking in with three guests identified as Healion, Giddings, and “Joseph Yeng,” likely an alias for Vy.

Prosecutors stated that the Proud Boys group, including Healion, continued to march around the Capitol grounds before reaching the Peace Circle at the restricted perimeter. Healion had covered his face with a black gaiter by this point.

Following Proud Boys leadership, the crowd surged towards the police line, trampling bike rack barriers in their path. Healion assisted others in crossing the police line and even helped remove a bike rack barrier by pulling it away from a Metropolitan Police Department officer.

Subsequently, Healion followed other Proud Boys into the Upper West Terrace of the building and eventually entered the Capitol through the Senate Wing Door at around 2:53 p.m.

The affidavit presented numerous photographs of the defendants within and near the Capitol during the January 6 attack. One image depicted Rehl and the three defendants on the Upper West Terrace, another showed them on the west side of the building, and a third captured them inside the office of Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon.

After spending approximately 20 minutes inside the building, Healion and other Proud Boys exited through a broken window. In many of the pictures, the defendants were seen flashing the OK symbol – a gesture co-opted by hate groups and white supremacists in recent years.

Healion is one of over 1,313 individuals charged with crimes related to the Capitol insurrection. Other individuals from Delaware County, such as Richard Michetti and Robert Sanford Jr., have also faced legal consequences for their involvement in the events of January 6.

Richard Michetti, aged 29 from Ridley Park, received a nine-month federal prison sentence in September 2022 after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting obstruction of an official proceeding. Robert Sanford Jr., aged 58, was sentenced to over four years in prison in April 2023 for throwing a fire extinguisher that struck two police officers in the head.