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Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and three lieutenants were found guilty Thursday of entering a seditious conspiracy against the U.S. government that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. A fifth Proud Boy was acquitted of the charge.
Prosecutors painted Tarrio as the leader of the plot, despite not physically being in Washington that day. His arrest on Jan. 4, 2021, on unrelated charges and the stabbing of several Proud Boys at a protest in December 2020 turned members of the group against District of Columbia law enforcement and served as motivators to try to stop certification of the 2020 presidential election, the government claimed.
But Tarrio’s attorneys argued that the Miami Proud Boy is the government’s scapegoat for the Capitol attack. The true culprit of Jan. 6, they said, was former President Donald Trump, who inflamed a mob of supporters and directed them toward the Capitol.
“It was Donald Trump’s words, it was his motivation, it was his anger that caused what occurred on Jan. 6,” Tarrio attorney Nayib Hassan said in his closing remarks. “They want to use Enrique Tarrio as a scapegoat for Donald Trump and those in power.”
Defendants Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl also were found guilty of seditious conspiracy. The jury decided later Thursday that defendant Dominic Pezzola, who is well known for using a police riot shield to break open a window of the Capitol, is not guilty of the charge.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who is overseeing the case, instructed the jury that they could return a partial verdict on any charges at any time. Kelly declared the jury hung on whether Pezzola conspired to obstruct the certification of the 2020 election and a second count of assaulting, resisting and impeding an officer. He also declared the jury hung on two charges for defendants Nordean, Biggs, Rehl and Tarrio.
All defendants were convicted of obstructing the certification of the 2020 presidential election, and all but Pezzola were convicted of conspiring to obstruct it. The defendants also were all convicted of conspiring to prevent an officer from discharging their duties, obstructing law enforcement and at least one count of destruction of government property. Pezzola was found guilty of a second count.
Each dressed in a full suit, the Proud Boys stood shoulder-to-shoulder and were expressionless as the verdicts were read.
The Justice Department’s conviction of Tarrio and three others on the rare, Civil War-era crime bolsters its account that the Capitol attack endangered American law and order. The Justice Department also earned several high-profile seditious conspiracy convictions of members of the right-wing militia group Oath Keepers, including leader Stewart Rhodes.
Attorney General Merrick Garland Thursday lauded the work of federal prosecutors, FBI agents and analysts.
“Our work will continue,” Garland said, adding that the verdicts were an example of the government’s “steadfast commitment to defend the American people and American democracy.”
Garland said the evidence presented at trial demonstrated the “central role” members of the extremist Proud Boys played in the effort to block the transfer of power.
In the jury trial’s 15 weeks, heated legal disputes, regular bickering between attorneys and plain bad luck caused extensive delays to the proceeding that was once projected to last just six weeks. Kelly, the judge, thanked the jury for its diligence and patience before dismissing them.
“As you all know, this trial has gone on longer than me or you expected,” he said.
CAPITOL RIOT ARRESTSSee who’s been charged across the U.S.
Proud Boys founder: Convictions ‘might as well be a death penalty’
Gavin McInnes, the right-wing provocateur who founded the Proud Boys, expressed disappointment to USA TODAY over the verdict.
“These guys have kids. This might as well be a death penalty,” McInnes said over text. “And for what? Wandering through a riot? The evidence showed there was no plan.”
Extremism expert: Verdict a ‘win for democracy’
Jon Lewis, a research fellow at the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, told USA TODAY that the Proud Boys’ convictions on several felony charges is a clear win for the Justice Department.
“This is a win for democracy,” Lewis said. “The leaders of the domestic violent extremist group that played the most prominent role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol have been judged to be guilty by a jury of their peers.”
But the five Proud Boys’ convictions on various felonies won’t disappear their ideology, experts said. In the months since the defendants were indicted, other Proud Boys and right-wing extremists have continued to make shows of force on the new front lines of the culture wars, from school board meetings to drag shows.
“The culture war the Proud Boys were fighting on Jan. 6 has not disappeared; the movement has remained focused on radicalizing and mobilizing more and more Americans to violence,” he said. “Even as individual groups fade from prominence, it is the movement that will continue to attract followers.”
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said that the Proud Boys’ continued activity poses a “new challenge” for safeguarding communities. But the convictions are an “important step” in the defense against extremism.
“These convictions highlight the Proud Boys’ key role in the attack on the Capitol and send a clear message to members of the group who continue to threaten, disrupt and intimidate local communities that violent extremism will not be tolerated,” he said in a statement.
The convictions
The five Proud Boys were found guilty of combined charges, including seditious conspiracy. Here are the charges on which a federal jury found the defendants guilty:
- Enrique Tarrio: Guilty of seditious conspiracy, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties, obstruction of law enforcement and destruction of government property.
- Ethan Nordean: Guilty of seditious conspiracy, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties, obstruction of law enforcement and destruction of government property.
- Joe Biggs: Guilty of seditious conspiracy, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties, obstruction of law enforcement and destruction of government property.
- Zachary Rehl: Guilty of seditious conspiracy, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties, obstruction of law enforcement and destruction of government property.
- Dominic Pezzola: Guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties, obstruction of law enforcement and destruction of government property and assaulting, resisting and impeding certain officers.
The acquittals
The jury found the Proud Boys not guilty of these charges:
- Enrique Tarrio: Not guilty of one count of assaulting, resisting and impeding certain officers.
- Ethan Nordean: Not guilty of one count of assaulting, resisting and impeding certain officers.
- Joe Biggs: Not guilty of one count of assaulting, resisting and impeding certain officers.
- Zachary Rehl: Not guilty of one count of assaulting, resisting and impeding certain officers.
- Dominic Pezzola: To be determined.
Contributing: Will Carless
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