Four members of the far-right organization The Proud Boys were convicted on charges of seditious conspiracy on Thursday in connection to their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol.
The Washington, D.C., federal jurors found Enrique Tarrio — the longtime chairman of the neo-fascist organization — Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl guilty of conspiring to prevent the transfer of power from former President Donald Trump to Joe Biden following the 2020 election. The jury was not able to decide whether to convict Dominic Pezzola, the fifth defendant who was reportedly inactive in the Proud Boys group chats and allegedly not in a leadership position, of the charge.
BREAKING: The jury agrees that the government has proved the existence of a seditious conspiracy.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) May 4, 2023
According to Politico reporter Kyle Cheney, all defendants were also found guilty of obstructing an official proceeding, namely Congress' joint session on Jan. 6.
Each member faced several charges, including three separate conspiracy charges, tampering with evidence and obstruction of the Electoral College vote, CNN reports. The judge overseeing the trial instructed the jury to continue deliberating Pezzola's charges in addition to the remaining, undecided counts against all five members.
The guilty verdict is the third of the Justice Department's seditious conspiracy convictions of those who attacked the Capitol in 2021. Six members of the Oath Keepers, another far-right group, were also found guilty of that charge in two trials in November and January.
During the latest trial, prosecutors made the case that the Proud Boys, incited by Trump and his election lies, called for violence in response to the impending Biden presidency, using messages and videos that the defendants and other members posted.
Messages in the indictment suggested that Tarrio helped to build a chain of command prior to the attack by preparing for a "revolution" and reviewing a plan to occupy "crucial buildings" in Washington.
Tarrio was not in D.C. on Jan. 6. He had been arrested and ordered to leave the city on Jan. 4 for bringing high-capacity rifle magazines in.
Prior to the Capitol breach, prosecutors said during the trial, members also messaged each other calling for "war," "revolution" and firing squads for traitors, adding that the Proud Boys saw Biden and others on the left as threats to the country. Prosecutors also alleged that, during the attack, Proud Boys leaders on the frontlines of the march encouraged others to move forward through hand signals.
Defense attorneys argued that the defendants never planned the insurrection or to impede the Electoral College's vote, adding that the messages and videos only show stupid, violent rhetoric, not a conspiracy.
The trial slated to last five-to-seven weeks came to a close on Tuesday with delays from revelations of new evidence, a juror who believed they were being followed and disarray amongst attorneys, pushing it to four months.
