As our nation prepares for the spectacle of a public, primetime hearing helmed by the January 6th select committee, (and produced by a former ABC television executive), there is a new wrinkle to the tale.
Leaders of the Proud Boys organization are now facing new charges stemming from their preparations for that fateful day.
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.
Enrique 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 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 claims sounds like they’re right out of a bad Hollywood movie.
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.
Using encrypted messaging programs, the indicted Proud Boys are accused of discussing their plans for the rally and beyond. One member of the group allegedly asked on Jan. 3, 2021, “What would they do if 1 million patriots stormed and too the capital building. Shoot into the crowd? I think not…They would do nothing because they can do nothing.”
During Thursday’s hearing, one witness will be a documentarian that was working with the group in the lead-up to January 6th, 2021, and these new charges will almost certainly factor heavily into the discussion.
