Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Eric McWaney, left, is the founder of the Proud Boys
Two New York men have been indicted on charges of participating in a March 1 rally that ended with a group of men attacking anti-Trump protesters.
Mr Christopher Keener and Mr Eric McWaney were also charged with hate crimes in the incident, the Department of Justice said.
DOJ lawyers said the defendants, alleged to be members of the far-right Proud Boys, participated in the assault of people protesting in front of the US Capitol Building.
The event, which occurred a day after Donald Trump’s inauguration, was part of an upsurge of right-wing activism in the United States.
“We fully expect that this indictment will be the first of many,” the DOJ statement said.
“An attack on a group of American citizens exercising their First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly is an attack on our entire nation.”
It said one of the defendants, Mr McWaney, may have helped coordinate the violence at the Capitol and the location where he reportedly directed Proud Boys members on social media.
Protesters gathered outside the Capitol to see off a group of Donald Trump opponents.
In audio recordings acquired by CNN, people of differing political views can be heard shouting at each other with the implication of fisticuffs.
Mr McWaney is the founder of the Proud Boys, a far-right group that started in 2014. In February 2015, founder Gavin McInnes was arrested following a controversial speech at the University of Michigan.
The Proud Boys’s logo includes a sword and a shield with crossed axes.
In February 2015, following a controversial speech at the University of Michigan, founder Gavin McInnes was arrested following a controversial speech at the University of Michigan. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption McInnes denies the group’s extreme positions are ‘toxic’
The idea is that the group is “western chauvinists” – that the US “is your home and your country”.
However, Mr McInnes recently said that his group is a “toxic” phenomenon because of its extreme positions on race and immigration.
A police probe into the incident was completed the following month, prompting the NYPD to apologise to those involved.
In a statement, the group which organised the protest issued a statement saying “as a result of this unjustified aggression and assault on our people, we lost support”.
“We denounce these criminal actions, and we strongly condemn these perpetrators,” the statement continued.
Mr McInnes has denied the group’s extreme positions are “toxic” and has defended Mr McWaney.
“He’s not a thug. He’s a pussy,” Mr McInnes told The New York Post.
“If you feel aggrieved, you get out there and have a protest. And because you feel aggrieved by something, you should be able to protest.”
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Cara Flores, right, was knocked down during the March 1 incident
In a Twitter post he argued that the rally was organised by “leftist agitators” and “right wing fascists”.
After the “brotherhood” (the Proud Boys) clashed with protesters who started scuffling with officers on the streets, more than 100 people took part in the attack on the anti-Trump protesters, according to some of those at the rally.
One of the people arrested was said to have been attempting to set a couch on fire outside a Starbucks in Washington DC.