(ReclaimingAmerica.net) – Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the right-wing “Proud Boys,” has been found guilty by a Washington, DC, jury of “seditious conspiracy” in a plot to attack the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Three other Proud Boys members – Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, and Zachary Rehl – were also convicted of sedition alongside Tarrio in what the Associated Press described as “one of the most serious cases brought in the stunning attack that unfolded on Jan. 6, 2021.”
The AP report cited by Newsmax stressed that the jury in the nation’s capital heard dozens of witnesses over the courts of more than three months, concluding that Tarrio and the Proud Boys had staged the Capitol attack in a “desperate bid” to keep then-President Donald Trump in power.
“It’s 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,” AP commented further.
“Securing the conviction of Tarrio, a high-profile leader who wasn’t at the riot itself, could embolden the Justice Department as a special counsel investigates Trump, including key aspects of the Jan. 6 insurrection,” the report elaborates.
The convicted Proud Boys members now face prison sentences of up to 20 years.
Tarrio has been behind bars since he was arrested over a year ago, in March 2022. The report noted he showed no emotion when hearing the verdict.
The four Proud Boys’ trial lasted twice as long as expected due to “bickering, mistrial motions and revelations of government informants in the group.”
The report recounts that Tarrio “led the neo-fascist group known for street fights with left-wing activists” when President Donald Trump told it to “stand back and stand by” during his first debate with Biden.
Even though the Proud Boys leader wasn’t in Washington, DC, on January 6 as he had gotten arrested in another case two days prior, prosecutors claimed he still orchestrated the attack on the US Capitol.
A fifth defendant in the case – Dominic Pezzola – was convicted of other charges, but the jurors remained divided as to whether he engaged in the “sedition plot.”
Besides seditious conspiracy, Tarrio, Nordean, Biggs, and Rehl were also convicted of “obstructing Congress’ certification of Biden’s electoral victory and obstructing law enforcement” and two other conspiracy charges.
The jury decided they were not guilty of an assault charge based on an act by Pezzola in which he took a riot police officer’s shield.
“[The Proud Boys were] lined up behind Donald Trump and willing to commit violence on his behalf,” said prosecutor Conor Mulroe in his closing argument.
The prosecution argued that the group considered itself “Trump’s army,” ready for “all-out war” to prevent Biden from entering the White House.
Tarrio’s lawyer Nayib Hassan argued the January 6 events at the Capitol were Trump’s fault.
“It was Donald Trump’s words. It was his motivation. It was his anger that caused what occurred on January 6th in your beautiful and amazing city,” the attorney said.
“It was not Enrique Tarrio. They want to use Enrique Tarrio as a scapegoat for Donald J. Trump and those in power,” he insisted.
What is your reaction to the jury’s verdict? Please share your thoughts and opinions by emailing [email protected]. Thank you.
BREAKING NEWS: Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio 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. https://t.co/CQWvTiowad
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) May 4, 2023
