Trump supporters behaving like the bags of ass that they are
- Thread starter PliggaNease
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He should have gotten more. It's wild that no one to this point has been held accountable for the police officer or anybody killed that day during the January 6th insurrectionJan. 6 rioter who crushed officer with shield sentenced to over 7 years in prison
CBS NEWS
April 14, 2023
Jan. 6 rioter who crushed officer with shield sentenced to over 7 years in prison
A man who used a stolen riot shield to crush a police officer in a doorframe during Capitol riot has been sentenced for his role in one of the most violent episodes of the Jan. 6 attack.www.cbsnews.com
Jan. 6 defendant Patrick McCaughey with riot shield
A man who used a stolen riot shield to crush a police officer in a doorframe during the assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced on Friday to more than seven years in prison for his role in one of the most violent episodes of the riot.
Federal prosecutors had recommended a prison sentence of 15 years and eight months for Patrick McCaughey III, which would have been the longest sentence for a Capitol riot case by more than five years.
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden sentenced McCaughey to seven years and six months in prison followed by two years of supervised release. The judge described McCaughey, 25, as a "poster child of all that was dangerous and appalling about" the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.
"Your actions are some of the most egregious crimes that were committed on that dark day," the judge told McCaughey.
McCaughey, of Ridgefield, Connecticut, expressed shame for joining the mob of then-President Donald Trump's supporters who "violated" the Capitol.
"I'm sorry that I conducted myself less like a citizen and more like an animal that day," he said.
McCaughey's 90-month sentence matches the second longest prison sentence so far for a Capitol riot defendant. It's the same length as the sentence that another judge handed down to Albuquerque Cosper Head, a Tennessee man who dragged Metropolitan Police Department Officer Michael Fanone into a crowd of rioters.
McCaughey was convicted by the judge of nine counts, including felony assault charges, after the judge heard trial testimony without a jury in September.
Nine people, including McCaughey, were charged with joining one of the most brutal clashes at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Police and rioters were fighting for control of a tunnel entrance on the Lower West Terrace when MPD Officer Daniel Hodges came face to face with McCaughey, who used a stolen riot shield to pin Hodges to a metal doorframe.
"Go home!" McCaughey shouted at the officer.
Hodges testified that the riot shield magnified the pressure against his body.
"There's no good way to fight back against it, really," he said.
Hodges screamed out for help when another rioter grabbed the officer's baton and struck him in the face with it.
"It was only then, over two minutes after the assault began, that McCaughey relented and pulled Officer Hodges's face shield down over his eyes," Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Paschall wrote in a court filing.
MPD Officer Daniel Hodges being crushed by riot shield allegedly held by Jan. 6 defendant Patrick McCaughey.
Hodges managed to retreat inside the Capitol building and was taken to a hospital. McCaughey struck a second officer with the shield before another officer sprayed him with a chemical irritant, backing him away.
"It is not an exaggeration to state the actions of these officers in thwarting the mob at the Lower West Terrace entrance potentially saved the lives of others, including members of Congress," Paschall wrote.
The judge convicted McCaughey of obstructing an official proceeding, the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress for certifying Joe Biden's presidential election victory over Trump.
Earlier this year, the judge sentenced four of McCaughey's co-defendants to prison terms ranging from 14 months to five years. Paschall argued that McCaughey's conduct was more "egregious and protracted" than the others'.
A probation officer's calculation of the sentencing guidelines for McCaughey recommend a prison term ranging from nine years to 11 years and three months.
McCaughey's attorneys requested a sentence of one year behind bars. They said McCaughey's "reprehensible" actions were motivated by his "misunderstanding" about the 2020 presidential election. Trump, the Republican incumbent, falsely claimed that Democrats stole the election from him.
"There remain many grifters out there who remain free to continue propagating the 'great lie' that Trump won the election, Donald Trump being among the most prominent. Mr. McCaughey is not one of these individuals; he knows he was wrong," his lawyers wrote.
McCaughey, a carpenter employed by his father's construction company, drove about 300 miles (480 kilometers) from his Connecticut home to Washington, D.C., to attend Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally on Jan. 6. After listening to speeches, McCaughey went to the Capitol and joined other rioters in confronting police officers guarding the West Plaza.
When the rioters broke through the police line, McCaughey climbed up the steps inside construction scaffolding and took a selfie atop the structure. Minutes later, he joined the mob in a coordinated "heave-ho" push against officers guarding the Lower West Terrace tunnel entrance.
More than 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the deadly Jan. 6 riot. Over 600 of them have pleaded guilty or been convicted after trials decided by a jury or a judge. Over 450 of them have been sentenced, with more than half getting terms of imprisonment ranging from seven days to 10 years.
The 10-year prison sentence was for retired New York City police officer Thomas Webster, who was convicted by a jury of assaulting a Metropolitan Police Department officer with a metal flagpole.
I'm not sure of the laws in DC, but they should have been able to charge every single one of the people there who were caught on video especially with murder.
You saw my cousin Vinny. If you were there you were an accomplice and you might as well have killed them yourself. But since these are white people, the laws are protecting them rather than punishing them justly
When I tell you I am enjoying watching America burn at the hands of white people I mean it.
America is quite literally drinking a bottle of gasoline and then smoking on a cigarette. What can go wrong?
Justice Department to seek longest sentence in any Jan. 6 riot case so far
BY SCOTT MACFARLANE
APRIL 17, 2023 / 11:06 PM / CBS NEWS
www.cbsnews.com
The U.S. Department of Justice will seek the longest prison sentence in any January 6 riot case to date when it argues for more than 24 years in prison for Peter Schwartz of Pennsylvania at sentencing on May 5. If imposed, the sentence would be more than twice as long as any handed down so far in the approximately 450 cases related to the January 6, 2021, assault that have reached sentencing.
In a sentencing memo submitted Monday, federal prosecutors argue Schwartz already had a lengthy criminal history when he entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, where he then unleashed a series of violent assaults against groups of officers. He was convicted at trial in December on several charges, including four counts of felony assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers using a dangerous weapon.
In a request for a more lenient sentence, his defense argued Schwartz was the victim of political grifters and misinformation. A sentencing memo submitted on his behalf Monday in federal court in Washington, D.C., said, "There remain many grifters out there who remain free to continue propagating the 'great lie' that Trump won the election. Donald Trump being among the most prominent."
In arguing for the lengthy prison sentence, the Justice Department said Schwartz "stole chemical munitions, including pepper spray... left behind by the fleeing officers and used that pepper spray as a weapon to attack those same officers as they desperately tried to escape."
Prosecutors also argue Schwartz assaulted several groups of police officers and "did not back down. He then joined the larger mob inside of the tunnel in attempting to push through the police line and into the Capitol Building."
"By Schwartz's own admission, he viewed himself as being at 'war' that day, stating in a Facebook post on January 7, 2021, 'What happened yesterday was the opening of a war. I was there and whether people will acknowledge it or not we are now at war,'" the Justice Department's sentencing memo notes.
Schwartz's wife, Shelly Stallings, was also charged for her role in the riot. She pleaded guilty last August and was sentenced to two years in prison earlier this year.
In requesting the 24-year sentence for Schwartz, prosecutors accused him of profiting from his arrest. Prosecutors allege, "As of April 17, 2023, Schwartz has raised $71,541 in an online campaign styled as a 'Patriot Pete Political Prisoner in DC' with an image of Peter Schwartz at the top."
Schwartz's defense recommends a sentence of 54 months in prison. The defense argues, "Mr. Schwartz travelled to Washington D.C. with his wife to listen to former President Trump's speech and walked to the Capitol Building alongside hundreds of other protestors. Mr. Schwartz did not come prepared to incite violence, attack the Capitol Building or any officers that day—none of his actions on January 6th were planned in anticipation of his travels."
The defense also wrote that "Although his conduct is indeed serious, it is significant to note that Mr. Schwartz's actions were not motivated by any desire for personal financial gain or any other type of benefit."
The memo states that Schwartz knew "next to nothing to nothing about the 2020 election and listened to sources of information that were clearly false. Mr. Schwartz has learned valuable life lessons from this incident, and he will never repeat the actions that bring him before the Court in this case."
But as recently as February 2023, Schwartz made jailhouse phone calls to a widely-streamed protest outside the Washington, D.C., jail where he is being held, claiming to have been "entrapped" by the U.S. government and referring to government officials as traitors.
In previous January 6 cases in which federal prosecutors have sought multi-year or higher-end sentences, federal judges have opted for more moderate sentences, lower in range or below federal sentencing guidelines.
More than 1,000 defendants have thus far been charged with federal crimes in connection with the U.S. Capitol attack, according to the Justice Department. Hundreds more arrests are expected.
BY SCOTT MACFARLANE
APRIL 17, 2023 / 11:06 PM / CBS NEWS
Justice Department to seek longest sentence in any Jan. 6 riot case so far
Peter Schwartz was convicted on several charges, including four counts of felony assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers using a dangerous weapon.
www.cbsnews.com
The U.S. Department of Justice will seek the longest prison sentence in any January 6 riot case to date when it argues for more than 24 years in prison for Peter Schwartz of Pennsylvania at sentencing on May 5. If imposed, the sentence would be more than twice as long as any handed down so far in the approximately 450 cases related to the January 6, 2021, assault that have reached sentencing.
In a sentencing memo submitted Monday, federal prosecutors argue Schwartz already had a lengthy criminal history when he entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, where he then unleashed a series of violent assaults against groups of officers. He was convicted at trial in December on several charges, including four counts of felony assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers using a dangerous weapon.
In a request for a more lenient sentence, his defense argued Schwartz was the victim of political grifters and misinformation. A sentencing memo submitted on his behalf Monday in federal court in Washington, D.C., said, "There remain many grifters out there who remain free to continue propagating the 'great lie' that Trump won the election. Donald Trump being among the most prominent."
In arguing for the lengthy prison sentence, the Justice Department said Schwartz "stole chemical munitions, including pepper spray... left behind by the fleeing officers and used that pepper spray as a weapon to attack those same officers as they desperately tried to escape."
Prosecutors also argue Schwartz assaulted several groups of police officers and "did not back down. He then joined the larger mob inside of the tunnel in attempting to push through the police line and into the Capitol Building."
"By Schwartz's own admission, he viewed himself as being at 'war' that day, stating in a Facebook post on January 7, 2021, 'What happened yesterday was the opening of a war. I was there and whether people will acknowledge it or not we are now at war,'" the Justice Department's sentencing memo notes.
Schwartz's wife, Shelly Stallings, was also charged for her role in the riot. She pleaded guilty last August and was sentenced to two years in prison earlier this year.
In requesting the 24-year sentence for Schwartz, prosecutors accused him of profiting from his arrest. Prosecutors allege, "As of April 17, 2023, Schwartz has raised $71,541 in an online campaign styled as a 'Patriot Pete Political Prisoner in DC' with an image of Peter Schwartz at the top."
Schwartz's defense recommends a sentence of 54 months in prison. The defense argues, "Mr. Schwartz travelled to Washington D.C. with his wife to listen to former President Trump's speech and walked to the Capitol Building alongside hundreds of other protestors. Mr. Schwartz did not come prepared to incite violence, attack the Capitol Building or any officers that day—none of his actions on January 6th were planned in anticipation of his travels."
The defense also wrote that "Although his conduct is indeed serious, it is significant to note that Mr. Schwartz's actions were not motivated by any desire for personal financial gain or any other type of benefit."
The memo states that Schwartz knew "next to nothing to nothing about the 2020 election and listened to sources of information that were clearly false. Mr. Schwartz has learned valuable life lessons from this incident, and he will never repeat the actions that bring him before the Court in this case."
But as recently as February 2023, Schwartz made jailhouse phone calls to a widely-streamed protest outside the Washington, D.C., jail where he is being held, claiming to have been "entrapped" by the U.S. government and referring to government officials as traitors.
In previous January 6 cases in which federal prosecutors have sought multi-year or higher-end sentences, federal judges have opted for more moderate sentences, lower in range or below federal sentencing guidelines.
More than 1,000 defendants have thus far been charged with federal crimes in connection with the U.S. Capitol attack, according to the Justice Department. Hundreds more arrests are expected.
Accused January 6 rioter fired shots at police during standoff ahead of arrest, court documents say
By Mary Kay Mallonee and Jack Forrest, CNN
April 20, 2023
ktvz.com
Nathan Donald Pelham, who is charged with misdemeanors for entering the restricted Capitol building and disorderly conduct, now faces a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm after opening fire on authorities from Hunt County Sheriff's Office, according to court documents.
Politico first reported the standoff with Pelham. CNN has reached out to Pelham's attorney for comment.
Pelham's father called law enforcement on April 12, warning that his son had a gun and was threatening suicide, the affidavit said. That same day, an FBI agent had called Pelham to notify him of a warrant for his arrest related to charges from the insurrection and Pelham had agreed to turn himself in the following week.
After arriving at Pelham's home and speaking to a neighbor, officers saw a young girl, Pelham's daughter, walk out of the house and she was put in a patrol car for safety, according to the affidavit.
Then authorities from the sheriff's department heard gunshots coming from inside the house, the affidavit said.
"Deputy J.W. reported that the gunshots were spread out in time and that they were not towards the HCSO personnel," the agent wrote. "At approximately 9:38 p.m., Pelham's father arrived on scene. Deputy J.W. heard another gunshot and reported that 'the bullet from this gunshot came in so close proximity to myself that I could hear the distinct whistling sound as the bullet traveled by me and then strike a metal object to my right side.'"
The standoff lasted until shortly after midnight when law enforcement left without arresting Pelham, according to the affidavit. Pelham was arrested on Tuesday, according to online court records.
By Mary Kay Mallonee and Jack Forrest, CNN
April 20, 2023
Accused January 6 rioter fired shots at police during standoff ahead of arrest, court documents say - KTVZ
By Mary Kay Mallonee and Jack Forrest, CNN A Texas man facing charges in connection to the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol opened fire on law enforcement officers last week when they arrived at his house in the Dallas area for a welfare check, according to an affidavit. Nathan...
Nathan Pelham at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
A Texas man facing charges in connection to the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol opened fire on law enforcement officers last week when they arrived at his house in the Dallas area for a welfare check, according to an affidavit.
Nathan Donald Pelham, who is charged with misdemeanors for entering the restricted Capitol building and disorderly conduct, now faces a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm after opening fire on authorities from Hunt County Sheriff's Office, according to court documents.
Politico first reported the standoff with Pelham. CNN has reached out to Pelham's attorney for comment.
Pelham's father called law enforcement on April 12, warning that his son had a gun and was threatening suicide, the affidavit said. That same day, an FBI agent had called Pelham to notify him of a warrant for his arrest related to charges from the insurrection and Pelham had agreed to turn himself in the following week.
After arriving at Pelham's home and speaking to a neighbor, officers saw a young girl, Pelham's daughter, walk out of the house and she was put in a patrol car for safety, according to the affidavit.
Then authorities from the sheriff's department heard gunshots coming from inside the house, the affidavit said.
"Deputy J.W. reported that the gunshots were spread out in time and that they were not towards the HCSO personnel," the agent wrote. "At approximately 9:38 p.m., Pelham's father arrived on scene. Deputy J.W. heard another gunshot and reported that 'the bullet from this gunshot came in so close proximity to myself that I could hear the distinct whistling sound as the bullet traveled by me and then strike a metal object to my right side.'"
The standoff lasted until shortly after midnight when law enforcement left without arresting Pelham, according to the affidavit. Pelham was arrested on Tuesday, according to online court records.
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Trump Junior frantically tried to stop the MAGA boycott of Budweiser after he got the call that Anh-Busch is a mega-donor to the Republican Party, then MAGA World trash him as a sellout. Whoops, whoopsie!
Reactionary grievance politics often paints you into a corner because you don't stand for anything.
Why aren't the families filing lawsuits against the Tuckers, Charlies, Candaces, Alex Jones if this is the case. They all riled up this guy, and they're sitting at home while he is about to catch serious federal charges.
Proud Boy who broke Capitol window rants about 'fake' charges as trial wraps up
Dominic Pezzola, who has been indicted on seditious conspiracy charges, admitted that he broke a window with a police riot shield, but said there was no plan to storm the Capitol.
By Ryan J. Reilly
April 21, 2023
www.nbcnews.com
WASHINGTON — A right-wing extremist who admitted he wielded a police shield and shattered a window at the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot called the charges against him "fake" as the Proud Boys seditious conspiracy trial, which has been underway for more than three months, nears an end.
Dominic Pezzola — a Proud Boy from New York who is on trial along with former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, and three other members, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl — said during cross examination on Thursday that rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, were "acting as trespassing protesters." He also argued that law enforcement officers used excessive force on the mob that day.
Pezzola, who admitted that he lied to the FBI about one of his co-defendants having a firearm during the riot, also called the trial "phony" and "corrupt." He argued that he was speaking metaphorically when he said he was willing to fight for the Proud Boys, comparing his past remarks to “how I’m fighting this corrupt trial with these fake charges.”
Pezzola also admitted that he was wearing a hat that said “respect is earned, beatings are free” during parts of the riot.
All five defendants rested their case Thursday evening, and prosecutors rested their case on Friday morning.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly began instructing jurors on Friday morning, and told attorneys he thought the best idea was to hold off on closing arguments until Monday. Justice Department prosecutors opposed that plan, saying the jurors were ready to hear closing arguments on Friday afternoon.
During the lengthy trial, Pezzola said that he was “just interested in joining a group of like-minded men" when he signed up with the Proud Boys shortly before the insurrection. "I believed everyone’s freedom is under attack by radical socialists," he said.
Prosecutors had presented a journal entry in which Pezzola wrote about why he wanted to join the far-right organization. “If the time comes, I’m willing to stand first on the line to protect who I love and what we stand for," read an excerpt from the journal.
Pezzola has acknowledged that he yelled at law enforcement as the mob overran them on the day of the riot. “You better decide what side you’re on motherf-----s,” Pezzola admitted he yelled on Jan. 6. “You think Antifa’s bad? Just wait.”
He also used his courtroom testimony to advance a conspiracy theory. Pezzola argued that Ray Epps, a Trump supporter who tried to calm down rioters on Jan. 6, was a government informant.
Asked by prosecutors if he had any first hand knowledge that Epps is a government informant, Pezzola said: “I’ve seen no evidence that he isn’t."
Far-right conspirators have alleged that Epps was working with the federal government and sought to provoke violence during the 2021 attack on the Capitol. Epps, who has said conspiracy theories had a significant impact on his life, told the House Jan. 6 committee last year that “the crazies started coming out of the woodwork” after conservative members of Congress and commentators referred to him by name.
Pezzola, who has cut his hair since the riot, said during the trial that he thought he looked like a "homeless man who went to the Capitol looking for food" that day.
About 1,000 defendants have been arrested in connection with Jan. 6, and hundreds of cases are in the works.
Proud Boys member Dominic Pezzola inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Dominic Pezzola, who has been indicted on seditious conspiracy charges, admitted that he broke a window with a police riot shield, but said there was no plan to storm the Capitol.
By Ryan J. Reilly
April 21, 2023
Proud Boy who broke Capitol window slams 'fake' charges as trial wraps up
Dominic Pezzola, who has been indicted on seditious conspiracy charges, admitted that he broke a window with a police riot shield, but said there was no plan to storm the Capitol.
WASHINGTON — A right-wing extremist who admitted he wielded a police shield and shattered a window at the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot called the charges against him "fake" as the Proud Boys seditious conspiracy trial, which has been underway for more than three months, nears an end.
Dominic Pezzola — a Proud Boy from New York who is on trial along with former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, and three other members, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl — said during cross examination on Thursday that rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, were "acting as trespassing protesters." He also argued that law enforcement officers used excessive force on the mob that day.
Pezzola, who admitted that he lied to the FBI about one of his co-defendants having a firearm during the riot, also called the trial "phony" and "corrupt." He argued that he was speaking metaphorically when he said he was willing to fight for the Proud Boys, comparing his past remarks to “how I’m fighting this corrupt trial with these fake charges.”
Pezzola also admitted that he was wearing a hat that said “respect is earned, beatings are free” during parts of the riot.
All five defendants rested their case Thursday evening, and prosecutors rested their case on Friday morning.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly began instructing jurors on Friday morning, and told attorneys he thought the best idea was to hold off on closing arguments until Monday. Justice Department prosecutors opposed that plan, saying the jurors were ready to hear closing arguments on Friday afternoon.
During the lengthy trial, Pezzola said that he was “just interested in joining a group of like-minded men" when he signed up with the Proud Boys shortly before the insurrection. "I believed everyone’s freedom is under attack by radical socialists," he said.
Prosecutors had presented a journal entry in which Pezzola wrote about why he wanted to join the far-right organization. “If the time comes, I’m willing to stand first on the line to protect who I love and what we stand for," read an excerpt from the journal.
Pezzola has acknowledged that he yelled at law enforcement as the mob overran them on the day of the riot. “You better decide what side you’re on motherf-----s,” Pezzola admitted he yelled on Jan. 6. “You think Antifa’s bad? Just wait.”
He also used his courtroom testimony to advance a conspiracy theory. Pezzola argued that Ray Epps, a Trump supporter who tried to calm down rioters on Jan. 6, was a government informant.
Asked by prosecutors if he had any first hand knowledge that Epps is a government informant, Pezzola said: “I’ve seen no evidence that he isn’t."
Far-right conspirators have alleged that Epps was working with the federal government and sought to provoke violence during the 2021 attack on the Capitol. Epps, who has said conspiracy theories had a significant impact on his life, told the House Jan. 6 committee last year that “the crazies started coming out of the woodwork” after conservative members of Congress and commentators referred to him by name.
Pezzola, who has cut his hair since the riot, said during the trial that he thought he looked like a "homeless man who went to the Capitol looking for food" that day.
About 1,000 defendants have been arrested in connection with Jan. 6, and hundreds of cases are in the works.
Proud Boys member Dominic Pezzola inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
nigga needs his ass beat. I will gladly volunteer. All skinfolk aint kinfolk....and some skinfolk need to be shot in the fuckin face
Over 1,000 people now face charges in connection to Jan. 6 riots
Shawna Chen
April 6, 2023
www.axios.com
In the 27 months since a mob of Trump supporters breached the Capitol, more than 1,020 people have been charged in connection to the insurrection and around 533 have pleaded guilty, the Department of Justice said Thursday.
The big picture: The federal investigation has led to a slew of high-profile arrests and convictions even as former President Trump and his allies accused the DOJ of unfair prosecutions.
Criminal charges
• 931 defendants have been charged with entering or remaining in a restricted federal building or grounds, including 102 who face charges for entering a restricted area with a dangerous or deadly weapon.
• 339 have been charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding officers or employees, including 107 who face charges for using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.
• 308 have been charged with corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding, or attempting to do so.
• 55 have been charged with conspiracy, including conspiracy to obstruct a congressional proceeding, conspiracy to obstruct law enforcement during a civil disorder, conspiracy to injure an officer or some combination of the three.
Pleas
• 144 defendants have pleaded guilty to felonies, including 61 who pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement officers and four who pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy.
• 389 have pleaded guilty to misdemeanors
Trials
• 67 defendants have been found guilty at contested trials.
• 16 have been convicted following an "agreed-upon set of facts," per the DOJ.
• Those who have been sentenced include the New Jersey man who used chemical spray to assault police officers, including the late Brian Sicknick. He will serve nearly seven years in prison.
Trump flags fly as rioters take over the steps of the Capitol on the East Front on Jan. 6, 2021 as Congress works to certify the electoral college votes.
Shawna Chen
April 6, 2023
Over 1,000 now face charges in connection to Jan. 6 riots
The federal investigation has led to a slew of high-profile arrests and convictions.
www.axios.com
In the 27 months since a mob of Trump supporters breached the Capitol, more than 1,020 people have been charged in connection to the insurrection and around 533 have pleaded guilty, the Department of Justice said Thursday.
The big picture: The federal investigation has led to a slew of high-profile arrests and convictions even as former President Trump and his allies accused the DOJ of unfair prosecutions.
Criminal charges
• 931 defendants have been charged with entering or remaining in a restricted federal building or grounds, including 102 who face charges for entering a restricted area with a dangerous or deadly weapon.
• 339 have been charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding officers or employees, including 107 who face charges for using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.
• 308 have been charged with corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding, or attempting to do so.
• 55 have been charged with conspiracy, including conspiracy to obstruct a congressional proceeding, conspiracy to obstruct law enforcement during a civil disorder, conspiracy to injure an officer or some combination of the three.
Pleas
• 144 defendants have pleaded guilty to felonies, including 61 who pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement officers and four who pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy.
• 389 have pleaded guilty to misdemeanors
Trials
• 67 defendants have been found guilty at contested trials.
• 16 have been convicted following an "agreed-upon set of facts," per the DOJ.
• Those who have been sentenced include the New Jersey man who used chemical spray to assault police officers, including the late Brian Sicknick. He will serve nearly seven years in prison.
Trump flags fly as rioters take over the steps of the Capitol on the East Front on Jan. 6, 2021 as Congress works to certify the electoral college votes.
FBI says former agent arrested over Jan. 6 called officers Nazis and encouraged mob to ‘kill ’em’
Jared L. Wise, who worked at the FBI for 13 years ending in 2017, was arrested Monday in Oregon.
By Ryan J. Reilly
May 2, 2023, 8:31 PM EDT / Updated May 2, 2023, 9:19 PM EDT
www.nbcnews.com
WASHINGTON — The FBI this week arrested a former bureau supervisor in connection with the Jan. 6 riot who they said called for killing officers protecting the Capitol that day.
Authorities arrested Jared L. Wise in Oregon on Monday, court records show. An FBI affidavit says he worked as a special agent and a supervisory special agent at the FBI from 2004 until 2017.
It wasn’t immediately clear what his employment status was at the time of the riot.
Wise was charged with entering and remaining in a restricted building; disorderly conduct in a restricted building; disorderly conduct with an intent to impede an orderly session of Congress; and unlawfully parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
"I’m former—I’m former law enforcement. You’re disgusting. You are the Nazi. You are the Gestapo. You can’t see it. ... Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!” federal authorities say he told officers before he entered the Capitol. “Yeah, f--- them! Yeah, kill ’em! Kill ’em! Kill ’em! Kill ’em!”
Jared Wise, circled, at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The FBI said that security video showed Wise entered the Capitol through the Senate wing door and that cellphone data confirmed his presence. He later exited out a window, it said.
The initial tip came from someone Wise told about entering the building, according to the affidavit. Wise was living in New Braunfels, Texas, until last June, authorities said, and then moved to Bend, Oregon.
An attorney for Wise did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Federal authorities have arrested at least 1,000 people in connection with the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, including multiple current and former law enforcement officers. Shortly after the attack, a top FBI official warned that many within the bureau were “sympathetic” to the mob.
Reached for comment on Wise's arrest, an FBI spokesperson said, “We refer you to the public court documents on the case and don’t have any additional comment.”
Jared L. Wise, who worked at the FBI for 13 years ending in 2017, was arrested Monday in Oregon.
By Ryan J. Reilly
May 2, 2023, 8:31 PM EDT / Updated May 2, 2023, 9:19 PM EDT
FBI says former agent arrested over Jan. 6 called officers Nazis
Jared L. Wise, who worked at the FBI for 13 years ending in 2017, was arrested Monday in Oregon.
WASHINGTON — The FBI this week arrested a former bureau supervisor in connection with the Jan. 6 riot who they said called for killing officers protecting the Capitol that day.
Authorities arrested Jared L. Wise in Oregon on Monday, court records show. An FBI affidavit says he worked as a special agent and a supervisory special agent at the FBI from 2004 until 2017.
It wasn’t immediately clear what his employment status was at the time of the riot.
Wise was charged with entering and remaining in a restricted building; disorderly conduct in a restricted building; disorderly conduct with an intent to impede an orderly session of Congress; and unlawfully parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
"I’m former—I’m former law enforcement. You’re disgusting. You are the Nazi. You are the Gestapo. You can’t see it. ... Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!” federal authorities say he told officers before he entered the Capitol. “Yeah, f--- them! Yeah, kill ’em! Kill ’em! Kill ’em! Kill ’em!”
Jared Wise, circled, at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The FBI said that security video showed Wise entered the Capitol through the Senate wing door and that cellphone data confirmed his presence. He later exited out a window, it said.
The initial tip came from someone Wise told about entering the building, according to the affidavit. Wise was living in New Braunfels, Texas, until last June, authorities said, and then moved to Bend, Oregon.
An attorney for Wise did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Federal authorities have arrested at least 1,000 people in connection with the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, including multiple current and former law enforcement officers. Shortly after the attack, a top FBI official warned that many within the bureau were “sympathetic” to the mob.
Reached for comment on Wise's arrest, an FBI spokesperson said, “We refer you to the public court documents on the case and don’t have any additional comment.”
Proud Boys members, ex-leader Enrique Tarrio guilty in seditious conspiracy trial
BY ROBERT LEGARE
UPDATED ON: MAY 4, 2023 / 12:31 PM / CBS NEWS
www.cbsnews.com
Washington — The one-time president of the far-right Proud Boys group Enrique Tarrio and three subordinates were convicted of numerous felonies including seditious conspiracy for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
A federal jury in Washington, D.C. found Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl and Joseph Biggs guilty of conspiring to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden and using force and prior planning to hinder the 2020 presidential election certification.
There was no verdict for Dominic Pezzola on the most serious charge, seditious conspiracy, and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. After the reading of the partial verdict, Judge Timothy Kelly sent the jury back to deliberate on these charges and several other felonies that they did not come to verdict on.
All five were found guilty of several other felonies, including obstructing an official proceeding; obstructing Congress; conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging duties; obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder and aiding and abetting and destruction of government property.
But Tarrio, who arrested on Jan. 4, 2021, and not at the Capitol, was found not guilty of assaulting officers. Only Pezzola was found guilty of that charge.
They now likely face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors had argued the defendants had conspired to unlawfully use force — and the crowds gathered in Washington, D.C. — to keep former President Donald Trump in office.
Soon after the election, investigators alleged Tarrio began posting on social media and in message groups about a "civil war," later threatening, "No Trump…No peace. No Quarter."
Proud Boys leaders saw themselves as "a fighting force" that was "ready to commit violence" on Trump's behalf, the government alleged.
According to charging papers, Nordean, Rehl, Biggs and Pezzola gathered with over 100 Proud Boys near the Washington Monument on Jan. 6, 2021, around the time that Trump was speaking at the White House Ellipse. They allegedly marched to the Capitol grounds and communicated by radio.
Prosecutors said the defendants were among the first wave of rioters to breach Capitol grounds over police barricades and lead the mob toward the building.
Some defendants – like Pezzola – were accused of breaking windows at the Capitol, while others roused the mob and pushed through metal barricades and police lines to enter the Capitol.
Tarrio wasn't in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6 because he had been arrested for unrelated charges a day earlier. Still, the Justice Department alleged his planning before the attack, support for the rioters during the assault and comments afterward were sufficient to charge him with seditious conspiracy.
"Make no mistake, we did this," Tarrio wrote on social media during the riot.
"The spirit of 1776 has been resurfaced and has created groups like the Proud Boys. And we will not be extinguished," Nordean allegedly wrote in Nov. 2020. "Hopefully the firing squads are for the traitors that are trying to steal the election from the American people," Rehl posted.
Prosecutors said Tarrio exhorted protesters to violence, posting before Jan. 6, "Let's bring this new year in with one word in mind: revolt." In text messages, he later compared Proud Boys' actions that day to those of George Washington, Sam Adams and Benjamin Franklin.
Defense attorneys countered that the Proud Boys were just a glorified "drinking club" where men shared their anger, and they contended Tarrio and others had no explicit plan to resist the election results or obstruct Congress. Tarrio was merely exercising his constitutional rights, his lawyer argued.
"Did Enrique Tarrio make comments that were egregious? Absolutely," Tarrio's attorney rhetorically asked the jury in closing arguments last week. "You may not like what he said, but it is First Amendment-protected speech."
The trial, which began on Jan. 12, dragged from winter into spring with dozens of witnesses called by both sides and thousands of exhibits. Witnesses included a documentary filmmaker who followed Tarrio around after the 2020 presidential election, numerous FBI agents who investigated the case, Secret Service employees, and former Proud Boys.
Only two of the five defendants — Rehl and Pezzola — testified in their own defense. Rehl said he knew of no plans for violence and encouraged no one to engage with police.
Prosecutors showed video of Pezzola using a stolen police shield to smash a window and smoking a "victory cigar" inside the Capitol. He said he acted alone and testified he was not part of any criminal enterprise. Pezzola's attorney, Steve Metcalf, called the government's case a "fairy dust conspiracy,"
Matthew Greene — a former Proud Boys member — testified as a government witness and told the jury he first joined the group to defend against ANTIFA.
He testified there had been no explicit call to violently resist Joe Biden's presidency, but a "collective expectation" that they were to respond if provoked.
"I can't say it was overtly encouraged, but it was never discouraged," Greene said of violence, "And when it happened, it was celebrated."
Greene, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy and entered into a cooperation agreement with prosecutors, was pressed by the defense about whether the violence on Jan. 6 was planned. He said the crowd was angry, but the violence seemed "spontaneous." However, he testified the mob's actions were "either implicitly or overtly accepted and encouraged by the Proud Boys" on Jan. 6.
Another cooperating witness at trial, 43-year-old Jeremy Bertino, was considered to be Tarrio's top lieutenant and pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy last year. Like Tarrio, Bertino wasn't at the Capitol during the attack.
Bertino told the jury the Proud Boys nearly unanimously believed the 2020 election results were stolen from Trump as part of a broad "conspiracy." He testified that the Proud Boys saw themselves as the footsoldiers of the right, calling themselves the "tip of the spear" in the fight.
And after the attack, Bertino, who was recovering from an injury, messaged Tarrio, "I wanted to be there to witness what I believed to be the next American revolution…I'm so proud of my country today."
But he also told the court under cross-examination, "I didn't have conversations with anybody about going into the Capitol building." In closing arguments, Tarrio's lawyers questioned Bertino's reliability as a witness.
They blasted Bertino as a liar and alleged his testimony had been affected by his agreement with the government.
Prosecutor Conor Mulroe countered the defense argument that the seditious conspiracy had to be explicitly planned to be criminal.
"A conspiracy is nothing more than an agreement with an unlawful objective," Mulroe said of the law, "A conspiracy can be unspoken. It doesn't have to be in writing, hashed out around the table, or even in words. It can be implicit."
"They were there to threaten and if necessary use force to stop the certification of the election and that is exactly what they did," he told the jury.
Defense attorneys disagreed.
"If you don't like what some of them say, that doesn't make them guilty," said Rehls' attorney, Carmen Hernandez.
The trial was expected to last a few months, but squabbles between attorneys, sealed hearings, and shifting court schedules hampered efforts to expedite the proceedings.
"We're learning to work together. We have seven very different personalities," defense attorneys cautioned Judge Kelly in January as the trial began.
At times, the judge's patience particularly with defense attorneys appeared to wear thin as he attempted to stem the tide of objections, sidebars, and interruptions. "For God's sake," he pleaded with one defense attorney as they attempted to speak last month. "Goodness gracious," the judge said, exasperated during closing arguments. The days of testimony limped on.
The verdict came less than a month before Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes will be sentenced for a conviction of seditious conspiracy. A jury in Washington, D.C., found him and codefendant Kelly Meggs guilty of the high crime but acquitted three others of the charge.
A group of four more Oath Keepers was separately convicted of the seditious conspiracy count earlier this year, all in spite of efforts by defense attorneys to argue the charge is too extreme and Washington, D.C. jurors too biased.
Defense attorneys in the trial consistently laid the blame for the riot at the feet of Trump himself, many mentioning the former president in their opening and closing arguments.
Tarrio's attorney, Nayib Hassan, was even more explicit, telling the jury in closing arguments that "it was Donald Trump's words, it was his motivation, it was his anger that caused what occurred on January 6."
"They want to use Enrique Tarrio as a scapegoat for Donald Trump and those in power," Hassan said.
BY ROBERT LEGARE
UPDATED ON: MAY 4, 2023 / 12:31 PM / CBS NEWS
Proud Boys members, ex-leader Enrique Tarrio guilty in seditious conspiracy trial
A fifth defendant, Dominic Pezzola, was found not guilty of the most serious charge, seditious conspiracy.
www.cbsnews.com
Washington — The one-time president of the far-right Proud Boys group Enrique Tarrio and three subordinates were convicted of numerous felonies including seditious conspiracy for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
A federal jury in Washington, D.C. found Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl and Joseph Biggs guilty of conspiring to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden and using force and prior planning to hinder the 2020 presidential election certification.
There was no verdict for Dominic Pezzola on the most serious charge, seditious conspiracy, and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. After the reading of the partial verdict, Judge Timothy Kelly sent the jury back to deliberate on these charges and several other felonies that they did not come to verdict on.
All five were found guilty of several other felonies, including obstructing an official proceeding; obstructing Congress; conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging duties; obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder and aiding and abetting and destruction of government property.
But Tarrio, who arrested on Jan. 4, 2021, and not at the Capitol, was found not guilty of assaulting officers. Only Pezzola was found guilty of that charge.
They now likely face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors had argued the defendants had conspired to unlawfully use force — and the crowds gathered in Washington, D.C. — to keep former President Donald Trump in office.
Soon after the election, investigators alleged Tarrio began posting on social media and in message groups about a "civil war," later threatening, "No Trump…No peace. No Quarter."
Proud Boys leaders saw themselves as "a fighting force" that was "ready to commit violence" on Trump's behalf, the government alleged.
According to charging papers, Nordean, Rehl, Biggs and Pezzola gathered with over 100 Proud Boys near the Washington Monument on Jan. 6, 2021, around the time that Trump was speaking at the White House Ellipse. They allegedly marched to the Capitol grounds and communicated by radio.
Prosecutors said the defendants were among the first wave of rioters to breach Capitol grounds over police barricades and lead the mob toward the building.
Some defendants – like Pezzola – were accused of breaking windows at the Capitol, while others roused the mob and pushed through metal barricades and police lines to enter the Capitol.
Tarrio wasn't in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6 because he had been arrested for unrelated charges a day earlier. Still, the Justice Department alleged his planning before the attack, support for the rioters during the assault and comments afterward were sufficient to charge him with seditious conspiracy.
"Make no mistake, we did this," Tarrio wrote on social media during the riot.
"The spirit of 1776 has been resurfaced and has created groups like the Proud Boys. And we will not be extinguished," Nordean allegedly wrote in Nov. 2020. "Hopefully the firing squads are for the traitors that are trying to steal the election from the American people," Rehl posted.
Prosecutors said Tarrio exhorted protesters to violence, posting before Jan. 6, "Let's bring this new year in with one word in mind: revolt." In text messages, he later compared Proud Boys' actions that day to those of George Washington, Sam Adams and Benjamin Franklin.
Defense attorneys countered that the Proud Boys were just a glorified "drinking club" where men shared their anger, and they contended Tarrio and others had no explicit plan to resist the election results or obstruct Congress. Tarrio was merely exercising his constitutional rights, his lawyer argued.
"Did Enrique Tarrio make comments that were egregious? Absolutely," Tarrio's attorney rhetorically asked the jury in closing arguments last week. "You may not like what he said, but it is First Amendment-protected speech."
The trial, which began on Jan. 12, dragged from winter into spring with dozens of witnesses called by both sides and thousands of exhibits. Witnesses included a documentary filmmaker who followed Tarrio around after the 2020 presidential election, numerous FBI agents who investigated the case, Secret Service employees, and former Proud Boys.
Only two of the five defendants — Rehl and Pezzola — testified in their own defense. Rehl said he knew of no plans for violence and encouraged no one to engage with police.
Prosecutors showed video of Pezzola using a stolen police shield to smash a window and smoking a "victory cigar" inside the Capitol. He said he acted alone and testified he was not part of any criminal enterprise. Pezzola's attorney, Steve Metcalf, called the government's case a "fairy dust conspiracy,"
Matthew Greene — a former Proud Boys member — testified as a government witness and told the jury he first joined the group to defend against ANTIFA.
He testified there had been no explicit call to violently resist Joe Biden's presidency, but a "collective expectation" that they were to respond if provoked.
"I can't say it was overtly encouraged, but it was never discouraged," Greene said of violence, "And when it happened, it was celebrated."
Greene, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy and entered into a cooperation agreement with prosecutors, was pressed by the defense about whether the violence on Jan. 6 was planned. He said the crowd was angry, but the violence seemed "spontaneous." However, he testified the mob's actions were "either implicitly or overtly accepted and encouraged by the Proud Boys" on Jan. 6.
Another cooperating witness at trial, 43-year-old Jeremy Bertino, was considered to be Tarrio's top lieutenant and pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy last year. Like Tarrio, Bertino wasn't at the Capitol during the attack.
Bertino told the jury the Proud Boys nearly unanimously believed the 2020 election results were stolen from Trump as part of a broad "conspiracy." He testified that the Proud Boys saw themselves as the footsoldiers of the right, calling themselves the "tip of the spear" in the fight.
And after the attack, Bertino, who was recovering from an injury, messaged Tarrio, "I wanted to be there to witness what I believed to be the next American revolution…I'm so proud of my country today."
But he also told the court under cross-examination, "I didn't have conversations with anybody about going into the Capitol building." In closing arguments, Tarrio's lawyers questioned Bertino's reliability as a witness.
They blasted Bertino as a liar and alleged his testimony had been affected by his agreement with the government.
Prosecutor Conor Mulroe countered the defense argument that the seditious conspiracy had to be explicitly planned to be criminal.
"A conspiracy is nothing more than an agreement with an unlawful objective," Mulroe said of the law, "A conspiracy can be unspoken. It doesn't have to be in writing, hashed out around the table, or even in words. It can be implicit."
"They were there to threaten and if necessary use force to stop the certification of the election and that is exactly what they did," he told the jury.
Defense attorneys disagreed.
"If you don't like what some of them say, that doesn't make them guilty," said Rehls' attorney, Carmen Hernandez.
The trial was expected to last a few months, but squabbles between attorneys, sealed hearings, and shifting court schedules hampered efforts to expedite the proceedings.
"We're learning to work together. We have seven very different personalities," defense attorneys cautioned Judge Kelly in January as the trial began.
At times, the judge's patience particularly with defense attorneys appeared to wear thin as he attempted to stem the tide of objections, sidebars, and interruptions. "For God's sake," he pleaded with one defense attorney as they attempted to speak last month. "Goodness gracious," the judge said, exasperated during closing arguments. The days of testimony limped on.
The verdict came less than a month before Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes will be sentenced for a conviction of seditious conspiracy. A jury in Washington, D.C., found him and codefendant Kelly Meggs guilty of the high crime but acquitted three others of the charge.
A group of four more Oath Keepers was separately convicted of the seditious conspiracy count earlier this year, all in spite of efforts by defense attorneys to argue the charge is too extreme and Washington, D.C. jurors too biased.
Defense attorneys in the trial consistently laid the blame for the riot at the feet of Trump himself, many mentioning the former president in their opening and closing arguments.
Tarrio's attorney, Nayib Hassan, was even more explicit, telling the jury in closing arguments that "it was Donald Trump's words, it was his motivation, it was his anger that caused what occurred on January 6."
"They want to use Enrique Tarrio as a scapegoat for Donald Trump and those in power," Hassan said.
Four Proud Boys members found guilty of seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 trial
A fifth member of the group, Dominic Pezzola, was acquitted on the seditious conspiracy count, but found guilty on other charges, including assaulting officers on Jan. 6.
By Ryan J. Reilly
May 4, 2023, 10:16 AM EDT / Updated May 4, 2023, 3:29 PM EDT
www.nbcnews.com
WASHINGTON — Four members of the far-right Proud Boys organization were found guilty Thursday of seditious conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Enrique Tarrio, Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean and Zachary Rehl were found guilty on the rare charge of seditious conspiracy under a Civil War-era statute. Dominic Pezzola, another member of the group, was found not guilty of seditious conspiracy. Tarrio, Biggs, Nordean and Rehl were also found guilty of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, while U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly declared a mistrial on that count for Pezzola after the jury said it could not come to an agreement.
All five Proud Boys members were charged on nine counts in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, while Pezzola — who was caught on video smashing in a window with a Capitol Police shield during the breach, and who admitted to his behavior on the stand — was separately charged with a tenth count of stealing the police shield and found guilty Thursday.
Pezzola was also found guilty of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers, while the other four defendants were acquitted on that charge.
The jury reached only a partial verdict and Kelly declared a mistrial on several other counts on which the jury did not come to a conclusion.
The trial unfolded over the course of four months, with jury selection beginning in December 2022 and opening arguments starting in early January. The Proud Boys trial was the third seditious conspiracy case to go before jurors since the Capitol attack: Six members of the far-right Oath Keepers group, including founder Stewart Rhodes, were convicted on that charge across two trials in November and January.
Jeremy Bertino, a high-level member of the Proud Boys who pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy in October, testified for the prosecution in this latest trial as part of a plea deal, telling jurors that Proud Boys believed they "had to do anything that was necessary to save the country."
Prosecutors argued that the Proud Boys were "thirsting for violence" on Jan. 6 and had organized in advance to stop certification of President Joe Biden's win by "any means necessary, including by force."
Defense attorneys countered that the Justice Department was using the group as a scapegoat for the real person to blame for Jan. 6: Donald Trump.
Two defendants testified during the trial: Rehl, the head of the organization's Philadelphia chapter, and Pezzola, a floor installer from New York whom members of the organization called "Spaz." Just before Rehl was set to be cross-examined, online sleuths surfaced videos that appeared to show him deploying a can of pepper spray toward officers; Rehl denied it at trial and was not charged with assaulting police. Pezzola got heated on the stand, bringing up conspiracy theories about another Jan. 6 participant, Ray Epps, and ranting about the “fake” charges and the “phony” trial.
The biggest challenge prosecutors faced in the trial was convincing a jury that Tarrio, the former Proud Boys chairman, was a part of the conspiracy, given that he spent Jan. 6 at a hotel in Baltimore after being banned from Washington, D.C., the day before. Tarrio, in encrypted messages revealed during the trial, acknowledged receiving a message from someone who wanted to "storm the Capitol" but didn't directly endorse that plan, and prosecutors seemed to concede that much of what happened on Jan. 6 happened spontaneously. What they were able to show was that Tarrio said he wanted a "spectacle" on Jan. 6, and celebrated the attack on the Capitol after it happened, giving the Proud Boys credit for the breach.
Several other Proud Boys have pleaded guilty for their actions on Jan. 6, and another went to trial while the larger seditious conspiracy trial was underway. Joshua Pruitt, a D.C. bartender who joined the Proud Boys and stormed the Capitol, was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison in August. Nicholas Ochs, the founder of the Hawaii chapter of the Proud Boys, was sentenced to four years in prison in December.
Judge Kelly will ultimately sentence the defendants.
(Clockwise from left) Enrique Tarrio, Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola
A fifth member of the group, Dominic Pezzola, was acquitted on the seditious conspiracy count, but found guilty on other charges, including assaulting officers on Jan. 6.
By Ryan J. Reilly
May 4, 2023, 10:16 AM EDT / Updated May 4, 2023, 3:29 PM EDT
Four Proud Boys members found guilty of seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 trial
A fifth member of the group, Dominic Pezzola, was acquitted on the seditious conspiracy count, but found guilty on other charges, including assaulting officers on Jan. 6.
WASHINGTON — Four members of the far-right Proud Boys organization were found guilty Thursday of seditious conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Enrique Tarrio, Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean and Zachary Rehl were found guilty on the rare charge of seditious conspiracy under a Civil War-era statute. Dominic Pezzola, another member of the group, was found not guilty of seditious conspiracy. Tarrio, Biggs, Nordean and Rehl were also found guilty of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, while U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly declared a mistrial on that count for Pezzola after the jury said it could not come to an agreement.
All five Proud Boys members were charged on nine counts in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, while Pezzola — who was caught on video smashing in a window with a Capitol Police shield during the breach, and who admitted to his behavior on the stand — was separately charged with a tenth count of stealing the police shield and found guilty Thursday.
Pezzola was also found guilty of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers, while the other four defendants were acquitted on that charge.
The jury reached only a partial verdict and Kelly declared a mistrial on several other counts on which the jury did not come to a conclusion.
The trial unfolded over the course of four months, with jury selection beginning in December 2022 and opening arguments starting in early January. The Proud Boys trial was the third seditious conspiracy case to go before jurors since the Capitol attack: Six members of the far-right Oath Keepers group, including founder Stewart Rhodes, were convicted on that charge across two trials in November and January.
Jeremy Bertino, a high-level member of the Proud Boys who pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy in October, testified for the prosecution in this latest trial as part of a plea deal, telling jurors that Proud Boys believed they "had to do anything that was necessary to save the country."
Prosecutors argued that the Proud Boys were "thirsting for violence" on Jan. 6 and had organized in advance to stop certification of President Joe Biden's win by "any means necessary, including by force."
Defense attorneys countered that the Justice Department was using the group as a scapegoat for the real person to blame for Jan. 6: Donald Trump.
Two defendants testified during the trial: Rehl, the head of the organization's Philadelphia chapter, and Pezzola, a floor installer from New York whom members of the organization called "Spaz." Just before Rehl was set to be cross-examined, online sleuths surfaced videos that appeared to show him deploying a can of pepper spray toward officers; Rehl denied it at trial and was not charged with assaulting police. Pezzola got heated on the stand, bringing up conspiracy theories about another Jan. 6 participant, Ray Epps, and ranting about the “fake” charges and the “phony” trial.
The biggest challenge prosecutors faced in the trial was convincing a jury that Tarrio, the former Proud Boys chairman, was a part of the conspiracy, given that he spent Jan. 6 at a hotel in Baltimore after being banned from Washington, D.C., the day before. Tarrio, in encrypted messages revealed during the trial, acknowledged receiving a message from someone who wanted to "storm the Capitol" but didn't directly endorse that plan, and prosecutors seemed to concede that much of what happened on Jan. 6 happened spontaneously. What they were able to show was that Tarrio said he wanted a "spectacle" on Jan. 6, and celebrated the attack on the Capitol after it happened, giving the Proud Boys credit for the breach.
Several other Proud Boys have pleaded guilty for their actions on Jan. 6, and another went to trial while the larger seditious conspiracy trial was underway. Joshua Pruitt, a D.C. bartender who joined the Proud Boys and stormed the Capitol, was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison in August. Nicholas Ochs, the founder of the Hawaii chapter of the Proud Boys, was sentenced to four years in prison in December.
Judge Kelly will ultimately sentence the defendants.
(Clockwise from left) Enrique Tarrio, Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola
Proud Boys members, ex-leader Enrique Tarrio guilty in seditious conspiracy trial
BY ROBERT LEGARE
UPDATED ON: MAY 4, 2023 / 12:31 PM / CBS NEWS
Proud Boys members, ex-leader Enrique Tarrio guilty in seditious conspiracy trial
A fifth defendant, Dominic Pezzola, was found not guilty of the most serious charge, seditious conspiracy.
Washington — The one-time president of the far-right Proud Boys group Enrique Tarrio and three subordinates were convicted of numerous felonies including seditious conspiracy for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
A federal jury in Washington, D.C. found Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl and Joseph Biggs guilty of conspiring to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden and using force and prior planning to hinder the 2020 presidential election certification.
There was no verdict for Dominic Pezzola on the most serious charge, seditious conspiracy, and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. After the reading of the partial verdict, Judge Timothy Kelly sent the jury back to deliberate on these charges and several other felonies that they did not come to verdict on.
All five were found guilty of several other felonies, including obstructing an official proceeding; obstructing Congress; conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging duties; obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder and aiding and abetting and destruction of government property.
But Tarrio, who arrested on Jan. 4, 2021, and not at the Capitol, was found not guilty of assaulting officers. Only Pezzola was found guilty of that charge.
They now likely face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors had argued the defendants had conspired to unlawfully use force — and the crowds gathered in Washington, D.C. — to keep former President Donald Trump in office.
Soon after the election, investigators alleged Tarrio began posting on social media and in message groups about a "civil war," later threatening, "No Trump…No peace. No Quarter."
Proud Boys leaders saw themselves as "a fighting force" that was "ready to commit violence" on Trump's behalf, the government alleged.
According to charging papers, Nordean, Rehl, Biggs and Pezzola gathered with over 100 Proud Boys near the Washington Monument on Jan. 6, 2021, around the time that Trump was speaking at the White House Ellipse. They allegedly marched to the Capitol grounds and communicated by radio.
Prosecutors said the defendants were among the first wave of rioters to breach Capitol grounds over police barricades and lead the mob toward the building.
Some defendants – like Pezzola – were accused of breaking windows at the Capitol, while others roused the mob and pushed through metal barricades and police lines to enter the Capitol.
Tarrio wasn't in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6 because he had been arrested for unrelated charges a day earlier. Still, the Justice Department alleged his planning before the attack, support for the rioters during the assault and comments afterward were sufficient to charge him with seditious conspiracy.
"Make no mistake, we did this," Tarrio wrote on social media during the riot.
"The spirit of 1776 has been resurfaced and has created groups like the Proud Boys. And we will not be extinguished," Nordean allegedly wrote in Nov. 2020. "Hopefully the firing squads are for the traitors that are trying to steal the election from the American people," Rehl posted.
Prosecutors said Tarrio exhorted protesters to violence, posting before Jan. 6, "Let's bring this new year in with one word in mind: revolt." In text messages, he later compared Proud Boys' actions that day to those of George Washington, Sam Adams and Benjamin Franklin.
Defense attorneys countered that the Proud Boys were just a glorified "drinking club" where men shared their anger, and they contended Tarrio and others had no explicit plan to resist the election results or obstruct Congress. Tarrio was merely exercising his constitutional rights, his lawyer argued.
"Did Enrique Tarrio make comments that were egregious? Absolutely," Tarrio's attorney rhetorically asked the jury in closing arguments last week. "You may not like what he said, but it is First Amendment-protected speech."
The trial, which began on Jan. 12, dragged from winter into spring with dozens of witnesses called by both sides and thousands of exhibits. Witnesses included a documentary filmmaker who followed Tarrio around after the 2020 presidential election, numerous FBI agents who investigated the case, Secret Service employees, and former Proud Boys.
Only two of the five defendants — Rehl and Pezzola — testified in their own defense. Rehl said he knew of no plans for violence and encouraged no one to engage with police.
Prosecutors showed video of Pezzola using a stolen police shield to smash a window and smoking a "victory cigar" inside the Capitol. He said he acted alone and testified he was not part of any criminal enterprise. Pezzola's attorney, Steve Metcalf, called the government's case a "fairy dust conspiracy,"
Matthew Greene — a former Proud Boys member — testified as a government witness and told the jury he first joined the group to defend against ANTIFA.
He testified there had been no explicit call to violently resist Joe Biden's presidency, but a "collective expectation" that they were to respond if provoked.
"I can't say it was overtly encouraged, but it was never discouraged," Greene said of violence, "And when it happened, it was celebrated."
Greene, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy and entered into a cooperation agreement with prosecutors, was pressed by the defense about whether the violence on Jan. 6 was planned. He said the crowd was angry, but the violence seemed "spontaneous." However, he testified the mob's actions were "either implicitly or overtly accepted and encouraged by the Proud Boys" on Jan. 6.
Another cooperating witness at trial, 43-year-old Jeremy Bertino, was considered to be Tarrio's top lieutenant and pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy last year. Like Tarrio, Bertino wasn't at the Capitol during the attack.
Bertino told the jury the Proud Boys nearly unanimously believed the 2020 election results were stolen from Trump as part of a broad "conspiracy." He testified that the Proud Boys saw themselves as the footsoldiers of the right, calling themselves the "tip of the spear" in the fight.
And after the attack, Bertino, who was recovering from an injury, messaged Tarrio, "I wanted to be there to witness what I believed to be the next American revolution…I'm so proud of my country today."
But he also told the court under cross-examination, "I didn't have conversations with anybody about going into the Capitol building." In closing arguments, Tarrio's lawyers questioned Bertino's reliability as a witness.
They blasted Bertino as a liar and alleged his testimony had been affected by his agreement with the government.
Prosecutor Conor Mulroe countered the defense argument that the seditious conspiracy had to be explicitly planned to be criminal.
"A conspiracy is nothing more than an agreement with an unlawful objective," Mulroe said of the law, "A conspiracy can be unspoken. It doesn't have to be in writing, hashed out around the table, or even in words. It can be implicit."
"They were there to threaten and if necessary use force to stop the certification of the election and that is exactly what they did," he told the jury.
Defense attorneys disagreed.
"If you don't like what some of them say, that doesn't make them guilty," said Rehls' attorney, Carmen Hernandez.
The trial was expected to last a few months, but squabbles between attorneys, sealed hearings, and shifting court schedules hampered efforts to expedite the proceedings.
"We're learning to work together. We have seven very different personalities," defense attorneys cautioned Judge Kelly in January as the trial began.
At times, the judge's patience particularly with defense attorneys appeared to wear thin as he attempted to stem the tide of objections, sidebars, and interruptions. "For God's sake," he pleaded with one defense attorney as they attempted to speak last month. "Goodness gracious," the judge said, exasperated during closing arguments. The days of testimony limped on.
The verdict came less than a month before Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes will be sentenced for a conviction of seditious conspiracy. A jury in Washington, D.C., found him and codefendant Kelly Meggs guilty of the high crime but acquitted three others of the charge.
A group of four more Oath Keepers was separately convicted of the seditious conspiracy count earlier this year, all in spite of efforts by defense attorneys to argue the charge is too extreme and Washington, D.C. jurors too biased.
Defense attorneys in the trial consistently laid the blame for the riot at the feet of Trump himself, many mentioning the former president in their opening and closing arguments.
Tarrio's attorney, Nayib Hassan, was even more explicit, telling the jury in closing arguments that "it was Donald Trump's words, it was his motivation, it was his anger that caused what occurred on January 6."
"They want to use Enrique Tarrio as a scapegoat for Donald Trump and those in power," Hassan said.
Florida man charged with setting off explosive device in Capitol tunnel during Jan. 6 riot
Daniel Ball of Homosassa is the only Jan. 6 defendant charged with setting off an explosive device during the attack on the Capitol.
By Ryan J. Reilly
May 2, 2023, 11:29 PM EDT
www.nbcnews.com
www.documentcloud.org
Daniel Ball and the explosion in a U.S. Capitol tunnel on Jan. 6, 2021.
WASHINGTON — The FBI on Tuesday arrested a Florida man who federal authorities say set off an explosive device in a Capitol tunnel during a fierce battle between Trump supporters and law enforcement officers on Jan. 6.
Daniel Ball of Homosassa is charged with 12 counts, including assaulting, resisting or impeding officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon; using an explosive to commit any felony; and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder.
He is the only Jan. 6 defendant charged with setting off an explosive device during the attack on the Capitol.
Authorities say Ball, 38, "worked with other rioters to violently push against fully uniformed police officers attempting to keep individuals out of the Capitol Building" and then "threw an explosive device into the entranceway."
Several officers suffered effects from the explosion, the FBI said. One described “hearing impairment lasting months”; another described the pain of his ears ringing as a 10/10 on the pain scale and said that he temporarily lost his hearing and that his hearing was affected for at least two days. Another officer reported ringing in the ears for nearly three hours, while another said the ringing lasted far into the next day, according to the FBI.
“For many other officers that were interviewed, it was the most memorable event that day,” an FBI affidavit said. “Some officers who were defending the tunnel at the time of the explosion reported feeling the pressure of the blast. Some thought it was a fragmentation grenade and anticipated pain or significant injury. Some thought they were going to die. Some officers suffered psychological trauma from the explosion.”
An FBI explosives and hazardous devices examiner in the Explosives Unit at the FBI laboratory in Huntsville, Alabama, was "not able to conclusively identify the precise dimensions, charge size, or whether the explosive device thrown was improvised or commercially manufactured," according to the FBI, but concluded it was "capable of inflicting damage to surrounding property as well as seriously injuring persons in the vicinity of the resultant explosion."
Daniel Ball gestures toward Capitol Police in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.
In the affidavit, the FBI said that a few months after the Capitol attack, Ball was arrested in Florida and accused of battery against five civilians and two law enforcement officers. The FBI said he was convicted in connection with the incident and sentenced to five years' probation.
The FBI said Ball’s probation officer confirmed his identification for Tuesday's arrest, which appears to have been made with the help of facial recognition technology. “That’s Daniel Ball,” the probation officer said upon being shown a photo, according to the FBI. The probation officer added that Ball still owned the jacket he was wearing on Jan. 6, 2021, authorities said.
Ball's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night.
The use of explosive devices by the pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6 was extremely rare.
David Lee Judd lit what appeared to be a firecracker, but it did not explode. He was sentenced to more than 2½ years in federal prison for his role in the attack on the Capitol.
The FBI is still looking for the person or people who left pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national committees on Jan. 6. Shortly before the second anniversary of the riot, the FBI boosted the reward to $500,000 for information leading to the arrest of anyone involved with planting the pipe bombs, which did not explode.
Daniel Ball of Homosassa is the only Jan. 6 defendant charged with setting off an explosive device during the attack on the Capitol.
By Ryan J. Reilly
May 2, 2023, 11:29 PM EDT
Florida man charged with setting off explosive device on Jan. 6
Daniel Ball of Homosassa is the only Jan. 6 defendant charged with setting off an explosive device during the attack on the Capitol.
DocumentCloud
www.documentcloud.org
Daniel Ball and the explosion in a U.S. Capitol tunnel on Jan. 6, 2021.
WASHINGTON — The FBI on Tuesday arrested a Florida man who federal authorities say set off an explosive device in a Capitol tunnel during a fierce battle between Trump supporters and law enforcement officers on Jan. 6.
Daniel Ball of Homosassa is charged with 12 counts, including assaulting, resisting or impeding officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon; using an explosive to commit any felony; and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder.
He is the only Jan. 6 defendant charged with setting off an explosive device during the attack on the Capitol.
Authorities say Ball, 38, "worked with other rioters to violently push against fully uniformed police officers attempting to keep individuals out of the Capitol Building" and then "threw an explosive device into the entranceway."
Several officers suffered effects from the explosion, the FBI said. One described “hearing impairment lasting months”; another described the pain of his ears ringing as a 10/10 on the pain scale and said that he temporarily lost his hearing and that his hearing was affected for at least two days. Another officer reported ringing in the ears for nearly three hours, while another said the ringing lasted far into the next day, according to the FBI.
“For many other officers that were interviewed, it was the most memorable event that day,” an FBI affidavit said. “Some officers who were defending the tunnel at the time of the explosion reported feeling the pressure of the blast. Some thought it was a fragmentation grenade and anticipated pain or significant injury. Some thought they were going to die. Some officers suffered psychological trauma from the explosion.”
An FBI explosives and hazardous devices examiner in the Explosives Unit at the FBI laboratory in Huntsville, Alabama, was "not able to conclusively identify the precise dimensions, charge size, or whether the explosive device thrown was improvised or commercially manufactured," according to the FBI, but concluded it was "capable of inflicting damage to surrounding property as well as seriously injuring persons in the vicinity of the resultant explosion."
Daniel Ball gestures toward Capitol Police in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.
In the affidavit, the FBI said that a few months after the Capitol attack, Ball was arrested in Florida and accused of battery against five civilians and two law enforcement officers. The FBI said he was convicted in connection with the incident and sentenced to five years' probation.
The FBI said Ball’s probation officer confirmed his identification for Tuesday's arrest, which appears to have been made with the help of facial recognition technology. “That’s Daniel Ball,” the probation officer said upon being shown a photo, according to the FBI. The probation officer added that Ball still owned the jacket he was wearing on Jan. 6, 2021, authorities said.
Ball's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night.
The use of explosive devices by the pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6 was extremely rare.
David Lee Judd lit what appeared to be a firecracker, but it did not explode. He was sentenced to more than 2½ years in federal prison for his role in the attack on the Capitol.
The FBI is still looking for the person or people who left pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national committees on Jan. 6. Shortly before the second anniversary of the riot, the FBI boosted the reward to $500,000 for information leading to the arrest of anyone involved with planting the pipe bombs, which did not explode.
