Former Proud Boys Leader Guilty Of Sedition In Jan. 6 Attack

WASHINGTON, DC — Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right extremist group Proud Boys, was found guilty of seditious conspiracy Thursday for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The conviction carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The trial of Tarrio and four other Proud Boys began in January, more than two years after group members joined thousands of others in storming the Capitol to forcibly prevent the peaceful transfer of power from then-President Donald Trump to Joe Biden after the 2020 election.

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Tarrio's co-defendants Ethan Nordean, Joseph Bigg, and Zachary Rehl were also found guilty of seditious conspiracy and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, according to the Department of Justice. A fifth defendant, Dominic Pezzola, a Proud Boys member from Rochester, New York, was found not guilty of seditious conspiracy, according to authorities.

The jury deliberated for more than a week.

Tarrio, Nordean, Biggs and Rehl were also convicted of obstructing a joint session of Congress gathered to certify Biden’s electoral victory, obstructing law enforcement and several other charges. The four were cleared of an assault charge stemming from Pezzola, who stole an officer’s riot shield.

Members were unable to reach a verdict on several other counts against the group, including an additional conspiracy charge against Tarrio, CNN reported, and were instructed by a judge to continue deliberations.

The trial is the second related to the Jan. 6 attack. In November, a jury found Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and Kelly Meggs, the leader of the far-right group's Florida chapter, guilty of seditious conspiracy. Both are scheduled to be sentenced next month.

According to court documents, Tarrio created a special chapter of the Proud Boys known as the "Ministry of Self Defense." Through the group, authorities said Tarrio, Nordean, Biggs, Rehl, and Pezzola conspired to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Nordean was a Proud Boys chapter president from Auburn, Washington, according to court documents. Biggs was a self-described Proud Boys organizer from Ormond Beach, Florida, while Rehl is the former president of the Proud Boys chapter in Philadelphia.

All five men were accused of mobilizing and leading members of the Proud Boys in attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Tarrio and his co-defendants claimed credit for what happened on social media and in an encrypted chat room during and after the attack, authorities said.

A sixth defendant, who was charged with the group in an earlier indictment, pleaded guilty in April 2022. Charles Donohoe, of Kernersville, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers.

The trial was initially scheduled for August, NBC News reported.

Prosecutors told jurors the group viewed itself as "Trump's army" and was prepared for "all-out war" to stop Biden from becoming president.

The Proud Boys were "lined up behind Donald Trump and willing to commit violence on his behalf," prosecutor Conor Mulroe said in his closing argument.

Meanwhile, defense lawyer Nayib Hassan argued that Trump was to blame for the attack on the U.S. Capitol and that federal authorities were using Tarrio as a scapegoat for the former president's actions.

During his argument, Hassan said Tarrio wasn't in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 after he was banned following his arrest on allegations that he defaced a Black Lives Matter banner. Trump, Hassan argued, was the one to blame for extorting a crowd outside the White House to "fight like hell."

"It was Donald Trump's words. It was his motivation. It was his anger that caused what occurred on Jan. 6 in your beautiful and amazing city," Hassan told jurors in Washington federal court. "It was not Enrique Tarrio. They want to use Enrique Tarrio as a scapegoat for Donald J. Trump and those in power."

Before the Jan. 6 attack, the last successful seditious conspiracy trial was in 1995 when Egyptian cleric Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman and nine followers were convicted in a plot to blow up the United Nations, an FBI building, and two tunnels and a bridge linking New York and New Jersey.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.