Malden man, 48, faces federal charges in connection with Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack

  WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment charging a Malden man with obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony, for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

  Mark Sahady, 48, of Malden, Mass., was initially charged by criminal complaint with entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds. A superseding information, filed in March of 2022, added the charge of disorderly conduct in a Capitol building. A second superseding information, filed in March of 2023, added the charge of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. The indictment, which was filed on April 5, 2023, adds the felony charge.

  According to the charging documents, Sahady is the vice president of an organization called “Super Happy Fun America,” which allegedly purports to advocate for the “straight community.” Beginning on approximately Nov. 16, 2020, Sahady tweeted statements exhibiting a belief that the presidential election was stolen, and that people need to gather in D.C. on January 6, 2021, to respond. Photos posted on a Twitter account connected to Super Happy Fun America show Sahady on a bus with other individuals with the caption, “Bus 1 of 11 coming to Washington DC. See you there!”

  The charge of obstruction of an official proceeding carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charges for entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds carry sentences of up to one year in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $100,000. The charges of disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building carry sentences of up to six months in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $5,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

  This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Massachusetts.

  Sahady is one of nine Massachusetts residents arrested and charged in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol:

—Vincent Gillespie, 61, of Athol, was found guilty in December of 2022 on charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers, civil disorder, engaging in violence in a restricted building or ground and committing an act of physical violence in the Capitol

—On Dec. 2, ex-Natick Town Meeting member Sue Ianni was sentenced to a short prison term

—On Dec. 8, Troy Sergeant, 38, of Pittsfield, was sentenced to more than a year in prison for attacking police

—Ashland resident and former Brigham and Women’s Hospital physician Jacquelyn Starer was arrested for assaulting police

—Brian McCreary, of North Adams, was sentenced in April to three years of probation and 42 days of intermittent incarceration

Three other locals are awaiting either trial or a conviction over Jan. 6:

—Kevin Allen Chase of Seekonk

—Noah Bacon of Somerville

—David Lester Ross of Pittsfield