Proud Boys Trial Delayed By Jan 6th Committee Hearings
Former Proud Boys national chairman Henry “Enrique” Tarrio and four other members of the extremist group were charged with seditious conspiracy for what authorities say was a plot to forcibly oppose the lawful transfer of presidential power during the joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021. All have pleaded not guilty, but now a federal judge has agreed to postpone their trials after attorneys for several of the men argued that their clients couldn’t get a fair trial by an impartial jury in the midst of televised hearings by the House committee investigating the Capitol attack. They’re also waiting for the Committee to share documents that could become trial evidence.
U..S. District Judge Timothy Kelly postponed the start of the trial on Wednesday, moving it from August 8th to December 12th. Tarrio and his co-defendants — Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola — have been in federal custody for months and will remain so until their trials.
Justice Department prosecutors consented to the delay. They also said the House Committee’s failure to share the deposition and interview transcripts is also hampering their ability to investigate and prosecute the January 6th defendants, but the Committee is now cooperating with the DOJ. Of the defendants, only Tarrio wanted the trial to begin in August as scheduled. “Tarrio believes that an impartial jury will never be achieved in Washington, D.C., whether the trial is in August, December, or next year,” his lawyers wrote.
NEW: Jan. 6 committee chair Bennie Thompson tells me they plan on doing on the two planned remaining hearings for sure — one on Proud Boys and one on Trump’s reaction to the Capitol attack — but in July. They may add an extra hearing or two, he says.
— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) June 22, 2022
The seditious conspiracy indictment alleges that the Proud Boys held meetings and communicated over encrypted messages to plan for the attack in the days leading up to January 6th. On the day of the riot, Proud Boys members carried out a coordinated plot to storm past police barricades and attack the building with a mob of Trump supporters, the indictment says.
Yes, the Proud Boys should be designated as a terrorist organization. Listen to their founder: “We will kill you. That’s the Proud Boys in a nutshell.” 1/ https://t.co/HAxiigfUcU pic.twitter.com/nUE46ZuNvm
— Jennifer Cohn ✍🏻 📢 (@jennycohn1) June 22, 2022
[WATCH] Jan 6th Committee Member Says They ‘Don’t Plan to Just Sit By’ If Witnesses Are Being Intimidated