Members of the leadership of the violent hate gang, The Proud Boys, that planned the January 6th insurrection have now been indicted for seditious conspiracy by a federal grand jury. The right-wing armed militia group, the Oath Keepers, who were their co-planners on Jan 6th already had seen similar charges.
As we have written before, members of the two groups are also being sued by D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine. Chairman of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, who is named in the suit, did not participate in the January 6 attack on the Capitol, since he was ordered to stay out of Washington by a judge following an arrest for vandalizing church property, which involved the burning of a Black Lives Matter banner. Tarrio had been expecting to be in Washington on January 6, however, and participated in the organization in the run-up to the event.
Since that article was published it has been uncovered that Enrique Tarrio, along with other Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, including the indicted Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes were filmed planning the January 6th events. Tarrio has now been charged with “one count of seditious conspiracy, and one count of conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties.”
According to the Department of Justice’s release:
“Tarrio created a special chapter of the Proud Boys known as the “Ministry of Self Defense.” As alleged in the indictment, from in or around December 2020, Tarrio and his co-defendants, all of whom were leaders or members of the Ministry of Self Defense, conspired to prevent, hinder and delay the certification of the Electoral College vote, and to oppose by force the authority of the government of the United States. On Jan. 6, 2021, the defendants directed, mobilized, and led members of the crowd onto the Capitol grounds and into the Capitol, leading to dismantling of metal barricades, destruction of property, breaching of the Capitol building, and assaults on law enforcement.”
Tarrio has been indicted with Joseph “Joey” Biggs, one of the leaders of the Proud Boys and organizers of their events who stepped in while Tarrio was in prison was also part of separate charges. Biggs was one of the speakers at a July 6th, 2019 free speech rally in Washington DC where he shared the stage with Jan 6th planner, Ali Alexander.
The Proud Boys in Portland weeks before the election were emboldened by then President Trump’s call for them to “Stand back and stand by.” They stated that they were going to protect the vote – they didn’t end up doing much on election day, but two months later was a different story.
Also indicted this week for seditious conspiracy were members of the Proud Boys local leadership, Ethan Nordean (Auburn Washington), Zachary Rehl (Philadelphia) and Dominic Pezzola (Rochester, NY).
