WASHINGTON — An Alexandria man accused of entering the Capitol on Jan. 6 and then surveilling it for weeks afterward with his militia pleaded guilty Friday to one felony count.
Fi Duong, who the Justice Department said also went by the names “Monkey” and “Monkey King,” appeared before U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman to plead guilty to one felony count of civil disorder.
Duong was charged in July 2021 with the more serious felony count of obstruction of an official proceeding and four misdemeanors. According to charging documents, Duong entered the building wearing what the FBI described as a “Japanese-style mask” and claimed to have been grazed by a rubber bullet while inside.
According to the FBI, Duong introduced himself to an undercover DC Police Department employee in the vicinity of Freedom Plaza on Jan. 6 and stayed in contact with them after the riot. The two spoke on multiple occasions in encrypted chats about Duong’s alleged militia group surveilling the Capitol.
On Feb. 10, the UCE said they received a message from Duong about one of his guys “patrolling the green zone” outside the Capitol and asking if they were familiar with “SALUTE reports.” Salute is an acronym that stands for “Size, Activity, Location, Unit identification, Time and Equipment.” It’s a standard means of reporting enemy information used by the U.S. Marine Corps and other branches of the military.
On the same day, an unnamed associate of Duong’s reportedly messaged that they had taken footage of the Capitol’s west and east faces and was going to upload it to an encrypted cloud storage when they got home.
Three days later, the FBI said the associate proposed an “intel run” around the Capitol, saying it would be a “good opportunity to expose weaknesses.”
The undercover employee told the FBI Duong had also begun collecting materials for making dozens of Molotov cocktails at home, including boxes full of glass bottles. Duong allegedly spoke about making Molotovs and bombs frequently – specifically mentioning making “CS MRE bombs out of CS gas and the heating packet in in military field meals,” according to court filings.
Duong was never charged in connection to the alleged explosive materials. In court Friday, his attorney said the plea deal included a promise from the government not to file additional charges related to his statement of offense.
Duong was scheduled to be sentenced on July 21. According to Friedman, the plea deal estimated he would face a sentencing guideline range of zero-to-six months in prison. Duong was ordered to remain on home incarceration until his sentencing date.
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