Proud Boys Leaders Hit with 'Seditious Conspiracy' Charges
Just days ahead of a primetime public hearing regarding the events of January 6th, 2021, a number of members of the Proud Boys organization are now facing heavy charges stemming from their actions leading up to that fateful day.
The right wing group was certainly present and vocal during the attempted insurrection at the Capitol, but authorities are now suggesting that their involvement in the incident goes much further.
The leader of the far-right Proud Boys and four of the group’s members have been charged with seditious conspiracy stemming from their alleged planning for and participation in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Advertisement - story continues belowEnrique Tarrio, along with codefendants Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola, are accused of conspiring to use force to oppose the lawful transfer of presidential power “by preventing, hindering, or delaying by force the execution of the laws governing the transfer of power,” according to a grand jury indictment filed Monday.
The new charges represent a drastically more dramatic turn in the case.
The five men were previously indicted on charges of conspiracy and pleaded not guilty. Monday’s indictment adds the even more serious “seditious” element to the counts, although many of the details in the new indictment had previously been alleged in the initial conspiracy charges.
The men are being accused of plotting some Hollywood-style “coup”.
According to the indictment, in December 2020, Tarrio and the Proud Boys members conspired to obstruct and stop the counting of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6. An unnamed individual sent Tarrio a document entitled “1776 RETURNS,” which described a plan to occupy multiple buildings in Washington, D.C., including congressional office buildings.
Democrats have been attempting to portray the events of January 6th, 2021 as a “coup” or “insurrection” for some time, but have yet to fully convince the American electorate of such claims.
