Siblings arrested in Capitol riot ask court to let them go home for Passover

Many people were arrested after the riots on the Capitol.

Hundreds were arrested after the riots on the Capitol. Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images

By Benyamin Cohen March 25, 2021

Cory and Felicia Konold, Jewish siblings who were arrested for their participation in the Jan. 6 riots on the Capitol, have petitioned a federal court to let them celebrate Passover at the home of their grandparents in Tucson, Arizona.

According to a court filing, a condition of their release bars contact “directly or indirectly” with their co-defendants, including each other.

Felicia Konold, 27, and her brother Cory, 25, were arrested on Feb. 11. They were released on bail on Feb. 18, when they were ordered to remain at their respective homes.

The siblings were accused of marching on the Capitol as part of a crowd of Proud Boys, a white nationalist group that was involved in the insurrection in D.C. The FBI included photos of the siblings at the event and said that Felicia was recruited into the far-right organization.

“I’m not just fighting for my freedom,” Felicia told a local news station. “I’m fighting for all of America’s freedom.”

Their father, 62-year-old Robert Konold, told the Arizona Daily Star that he was shocked when he heard the news. “I’m just a deer in headlights at this point,” he told the newspaper shortly after his children were arrested.

The request with the U.S. District Court asks for the Konold siblings to attend the second Passover Seder on Sunday evening at the home of their grandparents, Maryland and Ron Evans. Joseph R. Conte, the attorney representing the Konold siblings, wrote in the petition that “although the defendants will be in direct contact, there will be no discussions concerning the case.”

Benyamin Cohen is news director at the Forward. He is the author of two books, My Jesus Year and The Einstein Effect, and has written for The New York Times and The Washington Post. He lives with his wife in West Virginia with their three dogs, a cat and a flock of chickens known as the Co-Hens.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO