Proud Boys Sedition Trial Begins 2 Years After Jan. 6 Attack

WASHINGTON, DC — The sedition trial of Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four others began Thursday as prosecutors accused the group of taking aim at "the heart of our democracy" when they stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Jurors in the high-profile trial began hearing opening statements Thursday, more than two years after the far-right extremist group members joined a pro-Donald Trump mob in attacking the Capitol.

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.

"These men did not stand back. They did not stand by. Instead, they mobilized," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason McCullough told jurors, invoking the words of Trump when he told the Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by" during a 2020 presidential debate with Joe Biden.

Tarrio, of Miami, is charged with one count of seditious conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties in connection with Tarrio's role in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Tarrio, the former national chairman of the Proud Boys and Florida state director of Latinos for Trump, was previously indicted on seven other charges, according to federal officials.

Tarrio's co-defendants are Ethan Nordean, of Auburn, Washington, who was a Proud Boys chapter president; Joseph Biggs, of Ormond Beach, Florida, a self-described Proud Boys organizer; Zachary Rehl, who was president of the Proud Boys chapter in Philadelphia; and Dominic Pezzola, a Proud Boys member from Rochester, New York.

• RELATED: Proud Boys Leader, 4 Others Face New Charges Over Jan. 6 Riot

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

All five men are accused of mobilizing and leading members of the Proud Boys in attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. 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.

Jury selection in the case took two weeks as several potential jurors said they associated the Proud Boys with hate groups or white nationalism. Tensions bubbled over as jury selection slowed, and defense lawyers complained that too many potential jurors were biased against the Proud Boys.

Defense attorneys challenged jurors who supported causes such as Black Lives Matter, saying that could indicate prejudice against the Proud Boys.

Lawyers and the judge also clashed during sometimes chaotic pretrial legal wrangling to the point where two defense attorneys threatened to withdraw from the case. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, lashed out after defense lawyers repeatedly interrupted and talked over him on Wednesday, warning that he would find them in contempt if it continued.

Tarrio wasn't in Washington on Jan. 6 because he was arrested two days before the riot and charged with vandalizing a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic Black church during a protest in December 2020. He was ordered to leave the capital, but prosecutors say he remained engaged in the extremist group's planning for Jan. 6.

Prosecutors are expected to tell jurors that as their anger over the election grew, the Proud Boys also began to turn against police over Tarrio's arrest and the failure to bring charges in the stabbing of another Proud Boy during clashes the month before the riot.

Defense attorneys have argued the men did not plan or lead an attack on the Capitol, according to NBC News. They also claimed their clients are victims of selective prosecution and are being targeted because of their political beliefs.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.