MADRID, 19 December (EUROPA PRESS) –
The trial for sedition and conspiracy against the five main leaders of the Proud Boys, one of the far-right militias present at the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, begins in the United States this Monday.
As with other similar armed organizations such as the Oath Keepers, the Justice Department seeks to punish the Proud Boys’ key leaders for their role before, during and after this riot in which President Joe Biden was attempted to evade office. after his election victory.
Prosecutors allege that Enrique Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola planned and facilitated the violence that erupted after former President Donald Trump’s speech hours before the Capitol attack.
To prove their allegations, prosecutors will offer the testimonies of several former members of this militia, including some close to Tarrio who have already pleaded guilty to various charges related to the conspiracy, in exchange for legal benefits if they work with cooperated with the authorities.
For their part, the five Proud Boys have pleaded not guilty to all charges. The defense claims they simply protested that day, reports CNN. If convicted of conspiracy and incitement to hatred, they face up to 20 years in prison.
Among the accused is Enrique Tarrio, 38, who has headed this armed organization for many years. Despite the fact that he was not present during the riots – having been arrested two days earlier on charges of possessing weapons and destroying property – prosecutors allege that he created a sort of “Department of Self-Defense” to “conspire” and “paralyze.” “. the transfer of powers from the President.
The remaining defendants are Ethan Nordean, one of the leaders of the Washington delegation; Joseph Biggs, an Army veteran and leader of the Proud Boys of Florida; Zachary Rehl, a former Marine and president of the group in Philadelphia, and Dominic Pezzola.
The alleged plan, backed by the indictment, began with Tarrio calling for insurrection via social media and the internet days after former President Trump’s election defeat. “If Biden steals this election, we will be political prisoners. We won’t go in silence (…), I promise,” he published.
Since then, the presence of the Proud Boys at the demonstrations questioning the validity of the elections has increased, and many of them participated in the acts of violence that took place.
Tarrio is considered one of the main ideologues of the “Department of Self-Defense,” which consisted of a hundred heavily armed people who gathered at the George Washington Monument on the morning of January 6 to walk together to the Capitol.
According to records from the day, while members of the Proud Boys remained on the front lines of attacks on overworked Capitol police officers, some such as Nordean, Biggs and Rehl took a backseat, allowing others to lead the attack, only to join later.
One of those who took the lead in the mob was Pezzola, who was seen stealing a police riot shield and using it to smash one of the Capitol windows through which the attackers later entered.
The trial of these prominent Proud Boys leaders is the second, after the leaders of the Oath Keepers, against a far-right organization to be held in Washington following the events of what is now historic January 6, 2021 on charges of sedition and conspiracy.
Like Tarrio, Oath Keepers founding leader Stewart Rhodes was not present during the attack, but prosecutors were able to prove he had participated remotely by directing his henchmen. It may be the same argument prosecutors are using in this case.