Proud Boys charged with seditious conspiracy in DOJ's Jan. 6 investigation
Five members of the far-right Proud Boys — including former leader Enrique Tarrio — were indicted Monday for seditious conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The charges are so far the most serious brought by the Justice Department in its investigation of the attack, The New York Times reports.
The new indictment against Tarrio, Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola was unsealed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The five men had already been charged with conspiracy and other crimes in an indictment back in March — they pleaded not guilty. It's unclear at the moment what prompted the new charges, the Times notes.
To successfully argue a charge of seditious conspiracy, prosecutors must prove that defendants used force to either overthrow the government or interfere with the execution of federal law, the Times explains.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
So far, the only other defendants in the Jan. 6 investigation charged with seditious conspiracy are Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and 10 of his associates.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Zimbabwe’s driving crisisUnder the Radar Southern African nation is experiencing a ‘public health disaster’ with one of the highest road fatality rates in the world
-
The Mint’s 250th anniversary coins face a whitewashing controversyThe Explainer The designs omitted several notable moments for civil rights and women’s rights
-
‘If regulators nix the rail merger, supply chain inefficiency will persist’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
Jack Smith: Trump ‘caused’ Jan. 6 riotSpeed Read
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
