This Monday begins in the United States the trial for sedition and conspiracy against the five main leaders of the Proud Boys, one of the extreme right-wing militias present at the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
As it has already done with other similar armed organizations such as Oath Keepers, the Justice Department seeks to punish the main leaders of the Proud Boys for their role before, during and after that riot which was intended to prevent President Joe Biden from taking office after his electoral victory.
The prosecution alleges that Enrique Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, Dominic Pezzola, plotted and encouraged the violence that broke out after the speech given by former President Donald Trump hours before the assault on the Capitol.
To prove their accusations, prosecutors will offer the testimonies of several former members of this militia, including some close to Tarrio, who have already pleaded guilty to several charges related to the conspiracy in exchange for judicial benefits if they cooperated with the authorities.
For their part, the five Proud Boys have pleaded not guilty to all charges. The defense maintains that they were simply protesting that day, reports CNN. If found guilty of conspiracy and sedition, they could face up to 20 years in prison.
Among the accused is 38-year-old Enrique Tarrio, who has been at the head of the armed organization for many years. Although he was not present during the riots — as he was arrested two days earlier for possession of weapons and destruction of property — prosecutors claim he created a sort of ‘Ministry of Self-Defense’ to «conspire» and «paralyze» the transfer of presidential power.
The other defendants are Ethan Nordean, one of the leaders of the Washington delegation; Joseph Biggs, an Army veteran and head of the Proud Boys of Florida; Zachary Rehl, a former Marine and president of the group in Philadelphia; and Dominic Pezzola.
The alleged plot that the indictment alleges began with Tarrio calling for insurrection via social media and the Internet days after the defeat at the polls of former President Trump. «If Biden steals this election we will be political prisoners. We will not go quietly (…) I promise,» he posted.
Since then, the presence of Proud Boys in the demonstrations questioning the validity of the elections has increased, many of them participating in the violent acts that took place.
Tarrio is pointed out for being one of the main ideologues of this ‘Ministry of Self-Defense’ which was composed of a hundred heavily armed people, who on the morning of January 6 gathered at the George Washington Monument to go all together towards the Capitol.
While Proud Boys members remained at the forefront of the attacks on the outnumbered Capitol police, according to recordings from that day, some like Nordean, Biggs and Rehl took a back seat and left it to others to lead the assault and join in later.
One of these who assumed leadership of the mob was Pezzola, who was seen stealing a police riot shield and using it to break one of the windows of the Capitol building through which the assailants then entered.
The trial against these prominent Proud Boys leaders is the second against a far-right organization to be held in connection with the events of that historic January 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C., after the Oath Keepers leaders were charged with sedition and conspiracy.
Like Tarrio, the founding leader of Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, was also not present during the assault, however, the prosecution was able to prove that he had participated from a distance directing his henchmen. It is possibly the same argument that prosecutors will use in this case.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
