Proud Boys accused of instigating seizure of White House on Jan 6
2023.01.12 06:40
Proud Boys accused of instigating seizure of White House on Jan 6
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – In the seditious conspiracy trial of former Proud Boys chairman Henry “Enrique” Tarrio and four other members of the far-right group, who are charged with planning to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in order to prevent Joe Biden from becoming president, federal prosecutors are expected to make opening arguments as early as Thursday.
This is the third time that the Justice Department has brought charges against members of extremist groups for attempting to undermine American democracy on the day that supporters of then-President Donald Trump invaded the Capitol in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent lawmakers from certifying his defeat in the election to Vice President Joe Biden in November 2020.
In November, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and another chapter leader of the far-right militant organization were found guilty of seditious conspiracy, and four additional members are still awaiting trial.
The Civil War-era law that forbids plotting to overthrow or destroy the United States government carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence and is rarely prosecuted.
All five defendants in the Proud Boys case have pleaded not guilty, and their lawyers will argue that they did not plan to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.
In the wake of the assault, over 950 people have been charged with a crime. After the attack, five police officers died of a variety of causes, four of them during the chaos.
The Justice Department is also looking into efforts made by Trump’s advisers to overturn his election defeat under Special Counsel Jack Smith.
In the Proud Boys case, the government says that Tarrio and four other members of the group, some of whom led state chapters, bought paramilitary equipment for the attack and told self-described “western chauvinist group” members to come to Washington.
They claim that Tarrio planned the attack from Baltimore because he was told not to go to Washington on Jan. 4 after being arrested for burning a Black Lives Matter banner at an historic African-American church in December 2020.
After being released from custody, according to the prosecution, Tarrio met with Oath Keeper founder Rhodes at an underground parking garage.
The four other defendants, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola, were accused by the prosecution of being among the first people in the crowd to break through the Capitol barricades.
In April 2022, North Carolina chapter leader Charles Donohoe, a fifth member of the group, pleaded guilty to additional charges and may be called as a witness in the case.
Donohoe is accused of throwing water bottles at police, Pezzola is accused of grabbing an officer’s riot shield, and Biggs and Nordean are accused of tearing down a black metal fence that separated the crowd from the police.
“Dude, right now we’re in front of the Capitol. In a video of himself, Biggs stated, “American citizens are storming the Capitol – taking it back right now.”
According to the indictment, Pezzola broke a window with the stolen shield, allowing the mob to enter the Capitol.
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