Proud Boys Trial Ends in Massive Victory for DOJ

Several members of the far-right group Proud Boys were found guilty of seditious conspiracy Thursday in connection with the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.

The jury reached a partial verdict in the trial of five Proud Boys members: the group's former leader, Enrique Tarrio, as well as Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean, Dominic Pezzola and Zachary Rehl. Each member, except Pezzola, faced nine counts, including seditious conspiracy, a rare charge under a Civil War-era statute, and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. A person convicted on the rarely used seditious conspiracy charge could face up to 20 years in prison.

Prosecutors argued that Tarrio was part of the conspiracy because he spent that day at a hotel in Baltimore after being banned from Washington, D.C., on January 5. In an encrypted message shown during the trial, Tarrio acknowledged receiving a message from someone who wanted to "storm the Capitol," but the former Proud Boys leader didn't directly agree with that plan. Prosecutors showed that Tarrio said he wanted a "spectacle" on January 6, and celebrated the Capitol riot after it unfolded, crediting the Proud Boys for the attack.

U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly said the jury reached only a partial verdict and that verdicts on other charges were still being read. The jury is divided on whether Pezzola is guilty of seditious conspiracy and obstructing an official proceeding, but Kelly ordered jurors to continue deliberating about multiple charges.

Pezzola was found guilty of stealing a police shield that he reportedly used to smash a window during the riot, when supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to stop the certification of Joe Biden's Electoral College victory.

Prosecutors argued that the Proud Boys were "thirsting for violence" on the day of the riot as they prepared a plan in advance to stop the certification of Biden's win by "any means necessary, including by force."

However, attorneys for the defendants said that the Department of Justice was using the Proud Boys as scapegoats for Trump, whom they believe is responsible for the events that day.

Though the other four Proud Boys defendants were acquitted on the charge of assaulting, resisting, and impeding some officers, Pezzola was found guilty of those actions. Rehl denied deploying a can of pepper spray toward officers and wasn't charged with assaulting law enforcement.

Jeremy Bertino, a high-ranking member of the Proud Boys, testified as part of a plea deal that the group believed they "had to do anything that was necessary to save the country." Bertino pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy in October. He did not attend the Capitol riot but was involved in multiple discussions with other Proud Boys leaders ahead of it.

Jury selection for the trial began in December, with opening arguments in January. The trial faced some setbacks over the past few months as the group's defense team filed numerous motions. In March, the trial was halted after the government revealed that one witness scheduled to testify was an informant.

The trial is the third seditious conspiracy case to go before jurors since the riot. In November and January, several members of another far-right group, Oath Keepers, including founder Stewart Rhodes, also faced seditious conspiracy charges.

In January, a 12-member jury found members David Moerschel, Joseph Hackett, Roberto Minuta and Edward Vallejo guilty on three conspiracy charges, including seditious conspiracy, as well as obstructing Congress from certifying the 2020 presidential election results. In November, Rhodes and another member of the group were found guilty by a jury in a separate trial.

Newsweek reached out to Nicholas Smith, Ethan Nordean's attorney, by email for comment.

Update 5/4/23, 1:15 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.