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Proud Boys Enrique Tarrio, 3 others guilty of Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy

Prosecutors alleged defendants viewed themselves as Donald Trump’s army, intent on keeping him in power through violence

Former Proud Boys chairman Henry “Enrique” Tarrio and three other members of the extremist group were found guilty Thursday of seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Over nearly 15 weeks of trial, prosecutors alleged that the Proud Boys on trial saw themselves as Donald Trump’s “army.” Inspired by his directive to “stand by” during a September 2020 presidential debate and mobilized by his December 2020 call for a “wild” protest when Congress met to certify the election, prosecutors said the men sought to keep Trump in power through violence.

Defense attorneys for Tarrio fought back by blaming the former president, saying prosecutors made the five defendants scapegoats for an unplanned riot triggered by Trump’s incitement of angry supporters.

The jury, which began hearing testimony in January, deliberated about 30 hours over seven days in Washington.

Tarrio, 29, and the others were charged in a 10-count indictment. The charges included conspiring to oppose by force the lawful transition of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden after the 2020 presidential election, conspiring to obstruct Congress’s confirmation of the election result, and actually obstructing the joint session of Congress. The legal maximum penalty for either seditious conspiracy or the obstruction charges is 20 years in prison.

Also on trial were Ethan Nordean, Joe Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola. All five men also faced charges of assaulting police and destroying federal property. Pezzola faced an additional charge of stealing a police riot shield that he allegedly used to smash the first window breached by rioters.

The verdict concludes the last of three Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy trials, the most high-profile cases stemming from the largest prosecution in U.S. history. In November and January, six members of the extremist Oath Keepers movement were convicted of the historically rare and politically weighty crime of seditious conspiracy in the assault, including Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes.

Four others members of the two groups previously pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy. Three others were acquitted but convicted of obstructing the congressional session.

Both Tarrio and Rhodes are highly visible leaders of the alt-right or far-right anti-government movements, accused of playing an outsize role in organizing the violence or threat of violence by extremists drawn to the Capitol by Trump’s incendiary and baseless claims that the 2020 election was illegitimate.

Defense lawyers say the government’s theory that Tarrio and his co-defendants could be held criminally liable for using other rioters as “tools” of violence could be applied to many others who weren’t near the Capitol that day.

But U.S. prosecutors have not produced any “smoking gun” evidence explicitly tracing the actions of any of the Capitol’s violent actors to Trump or his advisers — either from a cooperating witness or an actual written message — although that conceivably could change if anyone still facing charges or pending sentencing “flips” and cooperates.

The government’s own evidence at trial showed how challenging the investigation has been. Statements by a lead FBI case agent in internal messages accidentally disclosed to the defense and entered into trial show that investigators only cracked Tarrio’s encrypted phone in late January 2022 — a year after the riot.

Only then, FBI Special Agent Nicole Miller wrote on Feb. 1, 2022, did she believe evidence on Tarrio’s phone cleared the “hurdle” to bring a conspiracy case against him.

The government argued that their concerted action on Jan. 6 alone was evidence of a criminal conspiracy, when prosecutors said the group marched to the Capitol even before Trump finished speaking at the White House Ellipse, helped drive rioters forward at several points, and celebrated with “victory smokes” and claims of credit after the Capitol breach.

“Make no mistake …” Tarrio texted, “We did this.”

But the U.S. also cited hundreds of encrypted messages, chats and social media posts involving the defendants. The conversations discussed keeping Trump in power “by any means necessary including force” — as star government witness and Proud Boys cooperator Jeremy Bertino testified — and storming the Capitol. The messages show that the Proud Boys were also angry at police handling of Bertino’s stabbing after a Dec. 12, 2020, rally in Washington, D.C., the government said.

The government has previously shown evidence that Tarrio, a former aide to Trump political confidant Roger Stone, was in contact with Trump’s “stop the steal” campaign organizer Ali Alexander and Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes throughout the post-election period. Rhodes had shared a proposal for storming Congress — while Tarrio, Nordean and Biggs were each in phone and text contact with Infowars.com founder Alex Jones or producer Owen Shroyer on Jan. 4, 5 and 6.

Stone, Alexander and Jones have denied any wrongdoing, and have not been charged with any crime.

The Proud Boys used “1776” as a shorthand for what they wanted to achieve, prosecutor Conor Mulroe said in closing arguments. But he said the defendants’ violent revolution would have reversed the Revolutionary War’s achievement — founding “a nation where leaders were chosen by the people, and power was handed over peacefully under the rule of law — not ruled by a king for life through the power of his army.”

Attorneys for the Proud Boys put on a combative defense, variously urging jurors to blame the violence on Trump, not his followers; accusing the Biden administration of overcharging protesters and locking up political opponents; alleging that a corrupt or incompetent Justice Department hid informants’ and police roles in the violence; and casting the defendants as beer-drinking brawlers who were patriots at heart, not “foot soldiers of the right” who turned from violently battling leftists in the streets to attacking police and lawmakers.

“There were no statements in those chats about stopping the transfer of power on Jan. 6 with or without force,” Tarrio attorney Nayib Hassan said, and defendants had no “shared objective” other than to march, protest and promote the Proud Boys brand.

The government’s entire case was built on a kind of “misdirection and innuendo,” manipulating jurors’ hostility toward Trump and playing to their “anger, emotion and partisan prejudice” to convict the men based on “guilt by association,” Nordean defense attorney Nicholas Smith said.

Tarrio, Nordean, and Biggs did not testify at trial, but Rehl said the Proud Boys preparations were strictly for self-defense after past violence in Washington, saying “there was nothing nefarious about it.”

Pezzola took the stand to “take responsibility for my actions,” and to clear the others of culpability. But he also attacked prosecutors and said he would stand “against this corrupt trial with your fake charges.”

While prosecutors offered no specific plan centered on the certification, they showed jurors scores of messages in which defendants said they would go to war to keep Trump in office.

The defense struggled with the deluge of videos, Parler posts and ******** messages amassed by the government, showing Proud Boys cheering and encouraging violence. When Rehl testified that he assaulted no one, the government surprised him with video that appeared to show him firing pepper-spray at police.

But attorneys cast themselves as defenders of the constitutional right to protest, not just of a group they acknowledged could be offensive, crude and even hateful. One — Biggs attorney Norm Pattis — warned darkly that convictions would only exacerbate the country’s divisions and possibly lead to civil war.

For now, the verdict comes as the Proud Boys organization is a shell of what it once was. The Jan. 6 prosecution, along with revelations that Tarrio and others have been federal informants, have divided the group. But membership continues to grow, and followers have found a new cause in protesting drag performances and transgender rights events around the country, sometimes leading to violence.

“If you are running a group [that] is somewhat effective … I guarantee you that there are [informants] within your group,” Tarrio said after closing arguments Tuesday in a jail call with reporters hosted by Gateway Pundit. He added that upon his release, he thought he might get out of politics and do “some kind of cultural thing.”

Hopefully they leave prison in a bodybag.

Imagine not being able to overthrow the government when the President was on your side and the entire Republican party was running interference for you.

Their criminality is only matched by how pathetic they are.

WEAK, LOW ENERGY INSURRECTION.

Confirmation that maga cultists are brainwashed treasonous domestic terrorist without even knowing they are. Never forget,”hang Mike Pence!”.

cliffs, please

Right wing troublemakers bad

Left wing filth like Antifa and blm super cool and go ahead and burn down cities because your father isn't around

Now do the people who launched the russiagate nvestigation and spied on trump and his team in an effort to overthrow him.

jesus christ what a shame


most non violent sedation ever

I understand you love sedition but why do you and your comrades hate the USA? Is it because the love of Orange man is the end all be all? So strange.

Lol.

So by saying "stand by" and "wild" Trump formed an army and incited them to into seditious conspiracy?

Contrast that with Maxine Waters calling on dems to harass members of the Trump admin out in the streets lol.



Nancy Pelosi even came out and admonished Waters for her comments but she added that Waters was provoked by "Trump's lack of civility" lol.

During the George Floyd protest, Waters told folks to hit the streets, stay in the streets, ignore curfew and get more confrontational lol.

Most of the dems, their voters and some republicans have been guilty of seditious conspiracy since 2016 lol.



Now dems will cheer malicious prosecution and unequal justice under the law lol.

Pretty much.

Two tier justice system. Imagine the screeching from lefties IF (and I'm not holding my breath that it ever will) the pendulum ever swings the other way...or even if it was just equal treatment.

Also...zip your fly dude.

I've had sex more violent than 1/6

Mothers have blamed their sons and daughters for the murder of the husband when put on trial lol.

If they refuse to do it on the stand then the defense attorney does it for them lol.

They are trying to stay out of prison by any means necessary lol.

The group saw Biden and other left-leaning politicians as a threat to the country and spoke about needing 'war,' 'revolution,' and firing squads for traitors.

Tarrio wrote 'Do what must be done' on social media as they swarmed the Capitol, and when asked what they should do next, he replied: 'Do it again.'

In another message, he wrote: 'Make no mistake. We did this.'

At least they are proud enough to do 20 years

How much time these losers facing?

That is pretty damning, if I'm on the jury, I might vote them guilty too lol but I'm sure you could find similar sentiment by dem politicians and their voters between 2016 and 2020, when are they going on trial?

I'm sure the democrats who broke down doors and windows of the capital in an attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power will be brought to justice.....should they ever do that.

war, revolution, and firing squads with no guns

Nobody ever said they were smart domestic terrorist.

conservatives peacefully protesting = bad

alt left terrorists killing black people, burning down buildings & committing political violence = good

Article said a max of 20 years.

your opinion has been noted.
The judge and juries has also

Yet another “L” in the long list of team maga losses.

P

Lol.

A Loss for MAGA is a loss for America.

When China starts eating America's whole lunch then all Americans will demand MAGA but it will be too late lol.



I guess we can all come together against China bringing back American unity, manufacturing can come back to America then since Americans will be desperate for work and the Chinese consumer will want cheaper goods and higher pay lol.

And after 2+ years they've been proved right

There was no riot, and only idiots think Trump had anything to do with these morons

cause no jury has ever gotten it wrong

Maga hates free & fair elections that is not American. The USA has been doing fine since maga lost on 2020. They only loss was for trump and his sycophants. It’s been 3 years & ChYna still has not taken over. These domestic terrorist and their sympathizers on here have been marked and noted as loyal followers of a cult leader that is loyal to a conman instead of the country they live in.

Trump supporters cant even find China on a map.
Stop it.