Four members of the far-right group Proud Boys, involved in the assault on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, were convicted on Thursday of “sedition”, according to several American media, an extremely rare charge.
Their former leader, Enrique Tarrio, is among the four condemned.
They were five members of the group to be tried in a court in Washington for having, with a crowd of supporters of Republican President Donald Trump, caused chaos in the seat of Congress when the elected officials certified the election of his Democratic rival Joe Biden at the White House.
The jury could not agree on the “sedition” charge for the fifth defendant, but all five were also found guilty of obstructing the work of Congress.
950 accused
Since the attack on January 6, 2021, more than 950 supporters of former Republican President Donald Trump have been arrested and charged with sowing chaos in the seat of American democracy.
After two other trials, concluded in November and January, six members of another far-right militia, the “Oath Keepers”, had already been convicted of sedition, a leader liable to 20 years in prison who involves having planned the use of force to oppose the government.
Difficult to prove, it is very rarely used, and the previous condemnation as such, before those of November and January, dates back almost a quarter of a century.
Organization of the assault
The trial of the five members of the Proud Boys opened in December in a court in the federal capital.
Former Proud Boys ‘national president’ Enrique Tarrio, arrested in Miami in March 2022, was not in Washington on January 6 but was suspected of leading the attack on the Temple of American Democracy by members of this neofascist organization.
The founder of the far-right Oath Keepers militia, Stewart Rhodes, was among the members of this group to be convicted in November of “sedition”.
According to Enrique Tarrio’s indictment, he spoke with Stewart Rhodes on January 5 in an underground parking lot in Washington and stayed in contact with members of the Proud Boys who entered the Capitol.
Four of his associates were accused of having directly taken part in the assault.
In a video of the event, one of them, Dominic Pezzola, can be seen handling a riot shield – stolen from police – and smashing a window in the Capitol.
On a cold winter’s day on January 6, 2021, thousands of President Donald Trump’s supporters gathered in Washington to protest the 2020 election result that saw the ex-real estate mogul lose .
A crowd had stormed the headquarters of the US Congress, sending shock waves around the world.
Nearly two years after the event, a House of Commons inquiry into the assault had recommended criminal charges be brought against ex-President Donald Trump, including for calling for insurrection and conspiracy against the American state.
Non-binding, the decision was nonetheless historic, since it aimed at a former head of state. Donald Trump immediately denounced a maneuver aimed, according to him, at hindering his new candidacy for the presidency.