CNN
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Far-right leaders proud boys Will stand trial starting Monday for their alleged plot to prevent Joe Biden from assuming the presidency, another test for the Justice Department’s efforts to punish the far-right political movement linked to the former president’s fierce allies Donald Trump.
Federal prosecutors intend to prove that four leaders of the Proud Boys… Enrique TarrioEthan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl – plotted and widely encouraged violence until January 6.
When the riot, allegedly instigated by a member of the Proud Boys, broke out at the Capitol, Nordean, Biggs and Rehl backed down while others — including fifth defendant Dominic Pezzola — took action, prosecutors say.
To prove their case, prosecutors will likely present testimony from several Proud Boys who pleaded guilty to conspiracy-related charges, including two alleged leaders and close allies of Tarrio. Prosecutors will also rely heavily on the defendants’ own words in texts and social media posts, as well as recorded planning meetings and videos of the riot.
Lawyers for the five defendants argued they were just protesting on January 6 and also suggested the government was overcharging their clients. During court hearings, defense attorneys also said the group had no real, coherent plan to attack the Capitol that day.
The trial against the Proud Boys is set to begin Monday with jury selection in DC federal court. All five defendants have pleaded not guilty to the indictment and face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Enrique Tarrio38, is the longtime president of the Proud Boys.
Ethan Nordean, 31, is a leader of the Washington State Proud Boys. Nordean, who goes by the nickname ‘Rufio Panman’ after a member of Peter Pan’s Lost Boys, rose to prominence in 2017 after a video of him knocking out an anti-fascist protester with one blow went viral .
Joseph Bigg, 38, is an Army veteran and a leader of Florida’s Proud Boys. Biggs previously worked as a correspondent for Infowars, a far-right outlet that peddles false conspiracy theories.
Zacharie Rehl36, is a former Marine and the president of his local Philadelphia chapter of the Proud Boys.
Dominique Pezzola, 44, is a proud boy from New York who goes by the nicknames “Spaz”, “Spazzo” and “Spazzolini”. Pezzola is a former Marine.
CNN
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Former FBI Deputy Director on the message the Oath Keepers jury verdict sends to domestic extremists
According to the indictment, Proud Boys leaders began planning a “war” in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.
“If Biden steals this election, [the Proud Boys] will be political prisoners. We won’t go easy…I promise,” Tarrio reportedly posted online in the days after the election was called for Joe Biden.
By December, members of the Proud Boys had begun to attend rallies in Washington, DC en masse. Some of the protests erupted into violence and the Proud Boys, known for their street fights, were in the middle.
When Trump announced the Jan. 6 rally on Twitter, Tarrio and others decided to create a new national chapter of the Proud Boys for the event called the Ministry of Self-Defense (MOSD) according to court documents. The MOSD was said to have been made up of more than 90 “handpicked members” and “rally boys” – members who were willing to break the law – and were encouraged not to wear the traditional Proud Boys uniform of polo shirts. black and yellow when they came to CC.
The MOSD, Tarrio reportedly informed new members, would have a “top-down structure”. He, Biggs and Nordean were considered leaders of MOSD, prosecutors say. Several others, including Rehl, were also part of the MOSD leadership.
Tarrio was arrested in Washington, DC on January 4, 2021, for burning a DC church’s Black Lives Matter banner in December and bringing high-capacity rifle magazines into the district. He was ordered by a judge to leave town. In cryptic leadership chats, Tarrio reportedly told other members that he hoped his arrest might spur people to violently lash out at the police.
A group of about 100 Proud Boys gathered at the Washington Monument on the morning of Jan. 6, prosecutors say. Several of the members, including Biggs and Rehl, reportedly had walkie-talkie style radios, and both Nordean and Biggs used a megaphone to direct the group as they marched to the Capitol.
The group arrived at the Capitol about 15 minutes before Congress was to initiate joint proceedings to certify the 2020 election, according to videos from that day, and walked to an access point on the west side of the building. A proud boy named Ryan Samsel was the first to charge and breach the barricades on the Capitol grounds, prosecutors say, and he spoke to Biggs just a minute before taking action.
As the battle on Capitol Hill ensued, hand-picked MOSD members, including Pezzola, can be seen in videos constantly on the front lines of the riot, prosecutors say. Nordean, Biggs and Rehl reportedly stayed behind, choosing to follow once others had already crossed police lines.
When the mob arrived at the gates of the Capitol, Pezzola used a stolen police riot shield to smash a window, prosecutors say. The first members of the mob to enter the Capitol building, allegedly including Pezzola and Biggs, entered through this window. The Senate adjourned a few minutes later.
Tarrio watched the mayhem unfold from Baltimore, reportedly posted publicly on social media, “Don’t fucking leave” and “Make no mistake…We did this…”
The Justice Department has already successfully prosecuted a seditious conspiracy case against the leaders of the Oath Keepers, which could serve as a model for prosecutors looking to the Proud Boys.
Both Stewart Rhodes, Founder of Oath Keepers And Tarrio did not enter the Capitol during the hours-long breach, but during his trial prosecutors successfully argued that Rhodes acted like a general overseeing his troops on Jan. 6, a narrative prosecutors will likely use. against Tarrio.
Unlike the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys have a long history of violent actions – a history that prosecutors will likely use to convince a jury that the group has a propensity for violence and that the Capitol riot was not out of the question. about.
In previous court filings, prosecutors said Tarrio, Biggs, Nordean, Rehl and other Proud Boys leaders encouraged their followers to “turn off your brain a bit” and used those followers as “tools” to achieve their larger plan of interference. .]with the joint procedure of Congress.
If the Justice Department secures convictions for Tarrio and other Proud Boys leaders, the group will continue to exist, Rachel Carroll Rivas, a senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center who studies extremism, told CNN.
“It’s not hierarchical like a lot of militia movements,” Rivas told CNN, noting that the group doesn’t depend on any leader to take action and take power.
The group’s goal, Rivas said, is focused on “creating chaos, creating fear through a sense of uncertainty and a lack of a sense of security,” which she says is aimed at getting fewer people to denounce the group.
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