United States: five members of the Proud Boys charged with “sedition” in the assault on the Capitol

Published on: 07/06/2022 – 03:18 The ex-leader and four members of the Proud Boys, a far-right militia, were charged on Monday with sedition, a charge punishable by 20 years in prison. They are accused of having coordinated the intrusion of a hundred of their members into the Capitol on January 6, 2021. After the Oath Keepers, they are the former leader of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, and four members of the militia far-right activists who have been charged with “sedition” for their role in the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington, the Justice Department announced Monday, June 6. The five men, ages 31 to 45 years old and detained for several months, were previously the subject of prosecution for “criminal association” with a view to hindering an official procedure or for violence. The accusation of “sedition” goes further. Federal prosecutors accuse the five men of having conspired upstream and encouraged supporters of Donald Trump to prevent elected members of Congress from certifying the electoral victory of Joe Biden in the presidential election of November 2020. They would then have coordinated the intrusion of a hundred members of this militia into the Capitol. Enrique Tarrio was not there. Two days earlier, he had been arrested for the destruction of a “Black Lives Matter” banner and while he was in possession of prohibited weapon chargers in the federal capital. He had been released on January 5, 2021 with orders to stay out of Washington. According to the indictment, he did not immediately comply and even met Stewart Rhodes, his counterpart in the Oath Keepers, before leaving the federal capital. The far-right Oath Keepers have also been charged with “sedition” for their alleged similar role in the deadly assault on the Capitol. Federal prosecutors rarely charge suspects with seditious conspiracy, which is punishable by a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. In parallel, a parliamentary commission of inquiry is trying to shed light on the role played by the former Republican president and his relatives in this coup. She must present her first conclusions on Thursday, during a long-awaited hearing. With AFP and Reuters