Four associates and the leader of the far-right Proud Boys have been charged with conspiring to seditiously hinder Congress’ certification of the 2020 election results.
They were also charged by a federal grand jury in Washington with conspiring against an officer’s discharge of duties.
This is the second group to be charged with conspiring to overthrow or prevent the execution U.S. laws. An earlier year, eleven members of Oath Keepers, including their leader Stewart Rhodes were charged with seditious conspiracies.
Although Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boy movement, wasn’t present at the Capitol during the insurrections, prosecutors claim he was involved in the coordinated violence to stop the electoral vote that day. Tarrio posted on social media “Proud Of My Boys and My Country” during the violence.
Tarrio was already taken into custody in March for his role in the plotting of the attack. Tarrio was also charged with Ethan Nordean and Joseph Biggs. Zachary Rehl, Dominic Pezzola, and Zachary Rehl were also arrested.
The insurrection was a subject of federal criminal charges against all five men. According to the Justice Department, their totals now stand at nine. Pezzalo was also charged with robbery.
They were taken into custody and have pleaded not guilty. They are due to appear in court on June 9th, the same day as the House select committee that investigated the deadly riot.
The federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. handed down Monday’s new indictment. It doesn’t seem to include any new explosive details about the riot and the planning.
One passage however, the court filing quotes correspondence sent by a private messaging group to the Proud Boys on Jan. 6.
“Dude, did you just influence history?” Unnamed persons texted Tarrio at 7 :39 p.m.
Tarrio responded, “Let’s see how this plays out.”
The Senate returned to the Senate at 8:08 p.m. on that evening to resume certification.
