Former Proud Boys leader and three other members of the far-right extremist group were convicted Thursday of a plot to attack the U.S. Capitol in a desperate bid to keep Donald Trump in power after the Republican lost the 2020 presidential election.
A jury in Washington, D.C., found Tarrio and three lieutenants guilty of after hearing from dozens of witnesses over more than three months in one of the most serious cases brought in the as the world watched on live TV.
Jurors cleared a fifth defendant B次元官网网址� Dominic Pezzola B次元官网网址� of the sedition charge, though he was convicted of other serious felonies. The judge excused the jury without delivering a verdict on some counts B次元官网网址� including another conspiracy charge for Pezzola B次元官网网址� after jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision.
ItB次元官网网址檚 a significant milestone for the Justice Department, which has now secured seditious conspiracy convictions against the leaders of two major extremist groups prosecutors say were intent on keeping Democratic President Joe Biden out of the White House at all costs. The charge carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
B次元官网网址淭he Justice Department will never stop working to defend the democracy to which all Americans are entitled,B次元官网网址� Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters after the verdict.
Tarrio, behind bars since his March 2022 arrest, didnB次元官网网址檛 appear to show any emotion as the verdict was read. He hugged one of his lawyers and shook the hand of the other before leaving the courtroom. A few of the people sitting among the defendantsB次元官网网址� relatives wiped away tears as the verdict was read.
The verdict comes after a trial that took more than twice as long as originally expected, , mistrial motions and revelations of in the group. Securing the conviction of Tarrio, a high-profile leader who wasnB次元官网网址檛 at the riot itself, could embolden the Justice Department as a special counsel investigates Trump, including key aspects of the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Special Counsel Jack Smith in recent weeks has sought the testimony of many people close to Trump. They include , who testified before a grand jury last week, likely giving prosecutors a key first-person account about certain conversations and events in the weeks preceding the riot.
Tarrio was a top target of what has become the largest Justice Department investigation in American history. He led the neo-fascist group B次元官网网址� known for street fights with left-wing activists B次元官网网址� when Trump infamously told the Proud Boys to during his first debate with Biden.
Tarrio wasnB次元官网网址檛 in Washington on Jan. 6, because he had been arrested two days earlier in a separate case and ordered out of the capital city. But prosecutors said he organized and directed the attack by Proud Boys who stormed the Capitol that day.
In addition to Tarrio, a Miami resident, three other Proud Boys were convicted of seditious conspiracy: Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl.
Tarrio, Nordean, Biggs and Rehl were also convicted of obstructing CongressB次元官网网址� certification of BidenB次元官网网址檚 electoral victory and obstructing law enforcement as well as two other conspiracy charges. The four were cleared of an assault charge stemming from Pezzola, who stole an officerB次元官网网址檚 riot shield.
RehlB次元官网网址檚 attorney, Carmen Hernandez, said her client B次元官网网址渃ontinues to maintain his innocence.B次元官网网址� Lawyers for Biggs and Pezzola declined to comment. An attorney for Tarrio declined to comment.
Prosecutors told jurors the group viewed itself as B次元官网网址淭rumpB次元官网网址檚 armyB次元官网网址� and was prepared for B次元官网网址渁ll-out warB次元官网网址� to stop Biden from becoming president.
The Proud Boys were B次元官网网址渓ined up behind Donald Trump and willing to commit violence on his behalf,B次元官网网址� prosecutor Conor Mulroe said in his closing argument.
The backbone of the governmentB次元官网网址檚 case was hundreds of messages exchanged by Proud Boys in the days leading up to Jan. 6 that show the far-right extremist group peddling TrumpB次元官网网址檚 false claims of a stolen election and trading fears over what would happen when Biden took office.
As Proud Boys swarmed the Capitol, Tarrio cheered them on from afar, writing on social media: B次元官网网址淒o what must be done.B次元官网网址� In a Proud Boys encrypted group chat later that day someone asked what they should do next. Tarrio responded: B次元官网网址淒o it again.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淢ake no mistake,B次元官网网址� Tarrio wrote in another message. B次元官网网址淲e did this.B次元官网网址�
Defense lawyers denied there was any plot to attack the Capitol or stop CongressB次元官网网址� certification of BidenB次元官网网址檚 win. A lawyer for Tarrio sought to push the blame onto Trump, arguing the former president incited the pro-Trump mobB次元官网网址檚 attack when he urged the crowd near the
B次元官网网址淚t was Donald TrumpB次元官网网址檚 words. It was his motivation. It was his anger that caused what occurred on January 6th in your beautiful and amazing city,B次元官网网址� attorney Nayib Hassan said in his final appeal to jurors. B次元官网网址淚t was not Enrique Tarrio. They want to use Enrique Tarrio as a scapegoat for Donald J. Trump and those in power.B次元官网网址�
The Justice Department hadnB次元官网网址檛 tried a seditious conspiracy case in a decade before a jury convicted another extremist group leader, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, of the Civil War-era charge last year.
Over the course of Rhodes and five other members were convicted of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors said was a separate plot to forcibly halt the transfer of presidential power from Trump to Biden. Three defendants were acquitted of the sedition charge, but convicted of obstructing CongressB次元官网网址� certification of BidenB次元官网网址檚 electoral victory.
The Justice Department has yet to disclose how much prison time it will seek when the Oath Keepers are sentenced later this month.
B次元官网网址擬ichael Kunzelman, Lindsay Whitehurst And Alanna Durkin Richer, The Associated Press
READ MORE:
