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The sedition trial of former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio is ramping up in Washington, D.C., this week, with jury selection due to begin Monday.
The federal government charges that Tarrio, along with four key deputies, conspired to oppose the transition of power from President Donald Trump to President-Elect Joe Biden by force — with several Proud Boys members wreaking havoc on Jan. 6, 2021, and celebrating afterward.
Following the conviction last month of Oath Keeper founder Stewart Rhodes, the Tarrio trial marks the Department of Justice’s second attempt to nail a right-wing militant leader for sedition. Sedition trial are rare and convictions even rarer. The successful prosecution of Rhodes and Kelly Meggs, a top Oath Keepers deputy, were the first sedition guilty verdicts in more than a quarter of a century. (A second sedition trial of Oath Keeper subordinates is also underway.)
The Proud Boys are a far-right drinking and fighting club that promotes “Western Chauvinism” — which they define as a refusal “to apologize for creating the modern world.” The group is infamous for brawling with anti-fascists during street protests.
Jan. 6 marked a moment of evolution for the group, in which Tarrio allegedly sought to transform the street toughs into a more formal militia. A key deputy, Joe Biggs, also on trial, allegedly wrote to Tarrio in Dec. 2020, calling average Proud Boys “losers who wanna drink” and telling the chairman it was time to “get radical and get real men.”
Tarrio acted on this advice, creating a “hand selected” unit of hardcore Proud Boys called the Ministry of Self Defense (MOSD). According to the feds, Tarrio put himself at the pinnacle of this “top-down” organization and told members to “fit in or fuck off.” He created an encrypted chat for its leadership. As charged by the government, this group plotted to stop the counting of the Electoral College vote — by any means necessary.
Heading into Jan. 6, the Proud Boys allegedly sought to blend into the crowd, eschewing the bright gold logos of their usual gear. The Proud Boys militants, according to the indictment, directed the Jan. 6 mobs toward the Capitol, tore down metal barricades, and assaulted law enforcement officers. One of Tarrio’s co-defendants, Dominic “Spaz” Pezzola, allegedly wrestled a riot shield from the hands of a Capitol cop, and used the instrument to break through a window at the Capitol, establishing one of the first breaches of the complex.
Tarrio himself was not on the ground in Washington, D.C., on the day of the insurrection. He’d gotten himself arrested on Jan. 4 on a warrant stemming from his burning of a Black Lives Matter flag in front of a church in Dec. 2020. Released from jail on Jan. 5, Tarrio was ordered to leave the district, which he did — but not before a covert meetup in a parking garage with now-convicted seditionist Rhodes of the Oath Keepers.
Despite his physical absence, the government alleges that Tarrio remained in command from his post in Baltimore, Maryland, cheering on his subordinates in a series of remarkable text-message exchanges in which Tarrio allegedly took credit for the chaos at the Capitol, including: “Make no mistake… We did this…”
When a fellow Proud Boy texted, “Are we a militia yet?,” Tarrio responded simply “Yep.” And as the counting of the votes of the Electoral College was halted, with the Senate floor overrun, Tarrio posted publicly on social media: “Proud Of My Boys and my country.”
The government has already secured a guilty plea in this case. Proud Boys deputy Jeremy Bertino — a member of the MOSD leadership — pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy in early October. His texts to Tarrio celebrating the achievements of Jan. 6 included: “You know we made this happen” and “1776 motherfucker.”
Tarrio’s lawyers have mounted a last-ditch effort to get the case against him tossed out. In a motion filed in early December they argue that a Washington, D.C., police officer, who was allegedly the force’s conduit to extremists staging protests in the district, could provide “exculpatory testimony negating Tarrio’s alleged criminal intent” that is “critical for Tarrio to receive a fair trial.”
The court paperwork suggests that officer Lt. Shane Lamond had a cozy relationship with the Proud Boys. But Lamond is now reportedly facing an investigation into his own behavior, and has clammed up, invoking the Fifth Amendment, taking him off the table as a defense witness. If Lamond is not offered immunity to testify, Tarrio’s lawyers argue, the court should dismiss the indictment against him. (District Judge Timothy J. Kelly, seated by president Trump, has not yet ruled on this motion.)
Opening arguments are expected to begin in early January and the trial itself is anticipated to last at least six weeks. Nearly 1,000 Americans have been charged with crimes related to Jan. 6. More than 400 have pleaded guilty.
Bellow, read the federal indictment against Tarrio and alleged co-conspirators Biggs, Pezzola, Ethan Nordean, and Zachary Rehl:
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