Ex-Proud boys leader Henry 'Enrique' Tarrio has been found guilty of seditious conspiracy for his part in the January 6 riots in Washington D.C.
Tarrio was found guilty by a federal jury in Washington D.C. today (4 May) along with three other members of the Proud Boys far-right group.
Federal jurors also convicted Tarrio and the trio of obstructing an official proceeding, conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging their duties, obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder and destruction of government property with value of over $1,000.
Judge Timothy Kelly delivered the verdict today which marks a significant win for the Justice Department after securing convictions against the former top leaders of both the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, another far-right anti-government group.
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Oath Keepers founder, disbarred lawyer Elmer Stewart Rhodes, was convicted in November 2022 of seditious conspiracy and evidence tampering with regard to the January 6 United States Capitol attack in 2021.
Both groups tried and failed to keep former President Donald Trump in power and stop certification of President Joe Biden’s winning 2020 election.
Now, Tarrio and the other defendants up to 20 years in prison on the most serious charges. They have been held in federal custody over the course of the trial, which came to an end last week.
Prosecutor Conor Mulroe said during his closing argument: “Politics was no longer something for the debating floor or the voting booth.
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“For them, politics meant actual physical violence… and they liked it and they were good at it.”
A video of Trump calling on the Proud boys to ‘stand back and stand by’ was played by both prosecutors and defense lawyers. The video was taken from a presidential debate and it led to a new membership enquiries for Proud boys.
Lawyers for Tarrio argued their client was a mere ‘scapegoat’ for the Justice Department and an easier target.
However, prosecutors reminded the jury that after the mob stormed the Capitol on January 6, Tarrio sent a message that read, “make no mistake, we did this.”
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The case included 500,000 chat messages, video footage, podcasts and a police riot shield.
Former members of the Proud Boys who pleaded guilty to their charges and agreed to cooperate with law enforcement made up most of the Justice Department’s witness list.