WASHINGTON — A federal grand jury returned a new indictment on seditious conspiracy charges Monday against five accused Proud Boys leaders – upping the ante in one of the Justice Department’s most high-profile Jan. 6 cases.
The five defendants in the case – Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Nachary Rehl, Dominic Pezzola and former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio – were all previously facing charges of conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding. Nordean, Biggs, Rehl and a fourth defendant, Charles Donohoe, were indicted last March. Pezzola, who was charged separately a week after the Capitol riot, and Tarrio were added to the case in March. Donohoe pleaded guilty in April to two counts of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and assaulting a federal officer.
In the new indictment, prosecutors accuse the men of conspiring to forcefully “prevent, hinder and delay” laws governing the transfer of power, including the 12th Amendment. Seditious conspiracy, like the two previous counts of conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding the men also face, carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
In the indictment and previously filed court documents, prosecutors say Nordean, Biggs, Rehl and other defendants repeatedly talked about their desire for violent conflict if former President Donald Trump lost the election. In one message posted on social media two days after the election, Biggs allegedly wrote, “It’s time for f***ing War if they steal this s***.” In another post, Nordean allegedly wrote, “The spirit of 1776 has resurfaced.”
Prosecutors allege on Jan. 6, Tarrio – who was not in D.C. at the time because of an arrest on weapons charges but is accused of coordinating Proud Boy operations remotely – had a nine-page document titled “1776 Returns” laying out a plan to occupy “crucial buildings” in D.C.
One of the defendants, Pezzola, is accused of using a stolen police riot shield to break a window in the U.S. Capitol Building – allowing the very first rioters to enter. Dozens of other Proud Boys have been charged with joining in the assault on the Capitol and the outnumbered police attempting to defend it. At least four members of the group have pleaded guilty to serious crimes in connection with the riot, including Donohoe, Pezzola’s former co-defendant Matthew Greene, Missouri Proud Boy Louis Enrique Colon and, most recently, former D.C. resident Joshua Pruitt.
Monday’s indictment brings the total number of Jan. 6 defendants charged with seditious conspiracy up to 16. In January, 11 members of the Oath Keepers, including founder Stewart Rhodes, were indicted on the same charge. Three of those defendants – Joshua James, Brian Ulrich and William Todd Wilson – have since pleaded guilty to the charge and agreed to cooperate against their former co-defendants.
In court documents filed last March, prosecutors said Florida Oath Keepers leader Kelly Meggs bragged about forming an “alliance” between militia groups and the Proud Boys, allegedly writing in a Facebook message, “We have decided to work together and shut this s*** down.” The FBI has also said it is probing a meeting between Tarrio and Rhodes, along with others, in a parking garage in downtown D.C. on Jan. 5, 2021. To date, however, prosecutors have not alleged any formal cooperation between the groups.
The government’s case against the five accused Proud Boys leaders was scheduled to begin trial on Aug. 8 before U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly. The Oath Keepers charged with seditious conspiracy are set to begin trial in late September, with a second group not facing the sedition charge expected to go before a jury in November. A number of members of both groups, including Tarrio and Rhodes, are also named as defendants in multiple civil suits brought by congressional Democrats, U.S. Capitol Police officers and the D.C. Attorney General’s Office in connection with Jan. 6.
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