Four members of the far-right Proud Boys were convicted of conspiracy in the US Capitol riot case.
New York:
Four members of the far-right Proud Boys were convicted of conspiracy to commit sedition on Thursday for their roles in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Enrique Tarrio, 39, the former “national president” of the neo-fascist organisation, was among those found guilty by a jury after a more than three-month trial in the nation’s capital.
Three of Tarrio’s lieutenants — Joseph Biggs, 39, Ethan Nordian, 32, and Zachary Rehl, 37 — were also convicted of seditious conspiracy, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, while a fourth Proud Boy, Dominic Pezzola , pleaded not guilty.
“After January 6, I promised that the Department of Justice would do everything in its power to hold accountable those responsible for the heinous attack, which sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy – the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government.” transfer,” Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters.
“Today’s decision makes clear that the Department of Justice will do everything in its power to protect the American people and American democracy,” Garland said.
Tarrio was not in Washington on January 6, but Trump was accused of directing the storming of the Capitol in an effort to prevent Congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory.
All five Proud Boy defendants were also convicted of a number of lesser charges, including obstructing the proceedings of Congress, obstructing law enforcement, and destroying government property.
Pezzola, 45, was also found guilty of racketeering US property. In widely viewed video footage from January 6, Pezzola can be seen using a stolen police riot shield to break a window in the Capitol.
Federal prosecutors’ success in securing convictions for treason among the Jan. 6 rioters could raise the stakes for Trump and his allies in an investigation by a special counsel into whether they plotted or instigated the Capitol attack.
More than 1,000 people have been arrested in connection with the attack on Congress by Trump supporters – and more than 600 have been convicted – but only about a dozen have faced the rare charge of treason.
– Special Counsel Investigation –
Two leaders of another far-right group, the Oath Keepers, were convicted of treason conspiracy last year, including founder Stewart Rhodes, and several other members convicted without trial.
According to Tarrio’s indictment, he met Rhodes on January 5 in an underground parking garage in Washington and was in contact with members of the Proud Boys who had violated the Capitol.
In January, four other members of the Oath Keepers were found guilty of seditious conspiracy, which strengthened the government’s argument that the 6 January attack was not simply a spontaneous act, but involved significant planning and co-ordination.
The attack on Congress left at least five people dead and 140 police officers injured and a fiery speech by Trump to thousands of his supporters near the White House.
Trump was impeached for a historic second time by the House of Representatives after the Capitol riot – he was accused of inciting insurrection – but was acquitted by the Senate.
A House committee investigating the Capitol riot recommended that the Justice Department pursue criminal charges against Trump.
Garland named a special counsel to oversee the investigation into the January 6 attack and the former president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election result.
Three weeks before the violence, Trump urged his supporters to come to Washington on January 6, tweeting: “Be there, it’ll get wild.”
Trump also faces possible impeachment in Georgia for allegedly pressuring local officials to change election results in the southern state.
The special counsel is also probing a cache of classified documents that the FBI seized in a raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence last year.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)