Enrique Tarrio and members of the Proud Boys are charged with seditious conspiracy for alleged January 6 crimes

WASHINGTON — The leader of the far-right Proud Boys and four members of the group have been charged with seditious conspiracy stemming from their alleged planning and involvement in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

Enrique Tarrioalong with co-defendants Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola, are charged with conspiring to use force to oppose the lawful transfer of presidential powers “by interfering with the execution of the laws governing the transfer.” regulate, forcibly prevent, impede, or delay power,” according to a grand jury indictment filed Monday.

The five men were previously charged with conspiracy and have pleaded not guilty. Monday’s indictment adds the even more serious “seditious” element to the charges, although many of the details in the new indictment were previously alleged in the original conspiracy charges.

According to the indictment, in December 2020, Tarrio and members of the Proud Boys conspired to obstruct and stop the January 6 vote count of the Electoral College. An unnamed person sent Tarrio a document titled “1776 RETURNS,” which detailed a plan to occupy several buildings in Washington, D.C., including the Congressional Office buildings.

Using encrypted messaging programs, the accused Proud Boys are accused of discussing their plans for the rally and beyond. A member of the group reportedly asked on Jan. 3, 2021, “What would they do if 1 million patriots stormed and the main building as well. Shoot into the crowd? I don’t think so…they wouldn’t do anything because there’s nothing they can do.”

That same day, according to indictment documents, an unidentified person sent a voice message in group chat and was accused of partially stating, “The main operating room should be outside the House of Representatives… Plan operations around the main entrance to the Capitol.” Rehl reportedly responded: “Good start”.

In court documents filed Monday night, Carmen Hernandez, Rehl’s court-appointed attorney, asked the judge overseeing her client’s case for permission to comment publicly on the new charges, citing the rules local courts restricting disclosure by attorneys.

“Without adding a single factual allegation in relation to Mr. Rehl, the Government today filed the third substitute charge in the present case, nearly 1 1/2 years after Mr. Rehl was first charged and pre-trial detained and just two months before he was scheduled to to begin the process,” the filing says, in part.

She later wrote: “The worst thing that Mr Rehl has been accused of is that he joined the Proud Boys, a legitimate fraternal association, as his right is protected by the First Amendment.”

Tarrio and his co-defendants are the second group accused of seditious conspiracy. You join Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and other accused members of the group, previously charged with the most serious charges in the January 6 wide-ranging inquest.

Also on Monday, documentary filmmaker Nick Quested of Goldcrest Films confirmed to CBS News that he will testify during the Jan. 6 House Committee hearing on Thursday. Quested followed Tarrio on January 5, 2021, capturing a meeting with Stewart Rhodes, leader of Tarrio and Oath Keepers, in a DC hotel parking garage.

Attack on the US Capitol

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