Former Proud Boys leaders charged with seditious conspiracy News
Tyler Merbler, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Former Proud Boys leaders charged with seditious conspiracy

The US Justice Department Monday charged former leaders of the Proud Boys with seditious conspiracy relating to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

Enrique Tarrio, a former chairman of the Proud Boys, was previously indicted on charges of conspiracy for his involvement in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol on March 8. The new indictment adds two new charges against Tarrio and the four other defendants, “one count of seditious conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties,” while Dominic Pezzola is facing an additional robbery charge.

In text messages introduced by the prosecutors, Tarrio appears to compare the attack on the US Capitol to the storming of The Winter Palace during Russia’s 1917 October Revolution.
The defendants’ lawyers claim that the men were did not have a plan when they went to the Capitol on January 6th, while Tarrio’s lawyer emphasizes that his client was not in Washington D.C. when the riot happened because he was arrested on January 5, 2021.

Tarrio and the other defendants plead not guilty under the original indictment. Charles Donohoe, who was the 6th defendant in the case, pleaded guilty to “conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers.”

Tarrio and the other defendants are scheduled to appear for a hearing on June 9.

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