Anti-LGBTQ+ Proud Boys Leader and Associates Convicted of Jan. 6 Seditious Conspiracy

Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys, and his four subordinates were convicted of crimes related to the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

A federal jury in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, found four of the five Proud Boys who were accused of seditious conspiracy to be guilty. However, a verdict has yet to be returned by the jury on one of the men charged with that crime.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly read the partial verdict in court at the end of the four-month trial.

As a result of this conviction, Nathan Nordean, Zach Rehl, Joe Biggs, and Tarrio now face up to 20 years in prison. Dominic Pezzola, shown breaking windows at the Capitol in widely distributed videos of that day’s events, appears to present a sticking point to the jury, which may be one reason why he was not convicted. The judge told them to continue deliberating, the Associated Press reports.

Since becoming prominent after the insurrection, members of the Proud Boys — designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center — have menaced LGBTQ-friendly events around the country. Armed members of the extremist group have shown up at Drag Queen Story Hour events to protest drag artists reading to children.

All defendants except Pezzola were also found guilty of conspiring to obstruct Congress. The jury is deadlocked on both charges against Pezzola. Still, Pezzola and the other defendants were found guilty of actual obstruction of Congress.

Pezzola was also convicted of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, while the other defendants were acquitted.

It was determined that the Proud Boys conspired unlawfully to maintain Donald Trump’s presidency through force.

In the days following the election, Tarrio allegedly posted on social media and in message groups with threats such as “No Trump…No peace. No Quarter” and discussing a “civil war.”

On January 6, 2021, the Proud Boys gathered near the Washington Monument as Trump spoke from the White House Ellipse. Their radios allowed them to communicate while walking around the Capitol.

After breaching police barricades on Capitol grounds, prosecutors said the mob attacked the building.

Several Proud Boys already pleaded guilty or went on trial for their actions that day while the larger seditious conspiracy trial was underway. Washington bartender Joshua Pruitt, who stormed the Capitol with the Proud Boys, was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison in August.

Nick Ochs, the founder of the Hawaii branch of the extremist group, was sentenced to four years in prison in December.