Proud Boys seditious conspiracy trial: Tarrio lawyer blames Trump - USA TODAY

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WASHINGTON – The convulsive storming of the U.S. Capitol connected Jan. 6, 2021 was not the responsibility of the Proud Boys; it was the responsibility of erstwhile President Donald Trump, a defence lawyer for Proud Boys person Enrique Tarrio argued successful tribunal Thursday.

“Too hard to blasted Trump, excessively hard to bring him to the witnesser basal with his service of lawyers &mldr; Instead they spell for the casual target. They spell for Enrique Tarrio, person of the Proud Boys," lawyer Sabino Jauregui told a jury in Washington, D.C, wherever 5 members of the right-wing extremist group are connected proceedings for charges stemming the Capitol riot 2 years ago.

Both sides gave opening arguments Thursday.

Prosecutors argued the opposite: The five Proud Boys connected trial “took purpose astatine the bosom of our democracy” connected Jan. 6, 2021, weaponizing an inflamed pro-Trump mob to execute their extremity of stopping the peaceful transportation of powerfulness from erstwhile President Donald Trump to Joe Biden.

“To these men&mldr;(the election) was a fraud,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason McCullough said successful the prosecution’s opening remarks. “And they were determination to halt it.”

The assemblage proceedings for the 5 Proud Boys leaders, including erstwhile nationalist chairman Henry "Enrique" Tarrio, began Thursday aft 2 weeks of assemblage enactment and sometimes melodramatic exchanges betwixt defence attorneys and the presiding judge.

The defendants look galore charges, including the rare complaint of seditious conspiracy.

It took much than 2 weeks to prime a assemblage to perceive the case, mostly owed to the extremist group's notoriety among the Washington, D.C. assemblage pool. At slightest 20 prospective jurors described the Proud Boys arsenic "'violent,' 'racist,' 'extremists,' 'terrorists,' 'dictators,' oregon worse," defence lawyer Steven Metcalf, who is representing suspect Dominic Pezzola, wrote successful a tribunal filing.

The Proud Boys are self-described “Western chauvinists," or “men who garbage to apologize for creating the modern world,” according to the Department of Justice.

The proceedings comes a little much than a period aft the historic sedition convictions of 2 leaders of different right-wing extremist group, the Oath Keepers.

What we know: Proud Boys connected proceedings for charges stemming from Jan. 6 Capitol riot

Proud Boys took 'aim astatine the bosom of our democracy' connected Jan. 6, 2021, prosecutors say

Prosecutors argued Thursday that successful the days aft the 2020 election, the Proud Boys connected proceedings wanted “war” if Trump was not reelected.

When it was wide Trump had lost, “they did not basal back, they did not basal by – alternatively they mobilized,” the authorities alleged, calling backmost to remarks Trump made during a September 2020 statesmanlike statement astir the Proud Boys.

Proud Boys organized aft Trump lost

After the election, the prosecution said Tarrio created a selective Proud Boys section called the “Ministry of Self Defense.” Defendants Biggs, Nordean and Rehl were his apical deputies. And suspect Pezzola “willingly and enthusiastically” joined the group, rapidly becoming a “rising star,” the authorities said.

On Jan. 6, 2021, much than 100 Proud Boys allegedly met astatine the Washington Monument and traveled toward the Capitol, with Biggs, Nordean and Rehl taking command, prosecutors said.

Tarrio was the leader

Tarrio was the person of them all, the authorities claimed. The Miami Proud Boy and longtime nationalist president of the radical remained successful interaction with the Proud Boys connected the crushed passim the day, contempt not being determination successful idiosyncratic aft a tribunal ordered helium permission D.C. after being antecedently arrested, the prosecution said.

Tarrio's apprehension and the stabbing of respective Proud Boys astatine a December 2020 protestation turned members of the radical against D.C. instrumentality enforcement and served arsenic motivators to halt the predetermination certification, the authorities claimed.

“To these defendants, it was impervious that instrumentality enforcement successful DC had already prepared itself for the incoming Biden administration," McCullough said.

'We did this'

Just minutes aft Congress was forced to temporarily halt the certification of the 2020 predetermination results, Tarrio allegedly wrote to the chat: “Make nary mistake&mldr;we did this.”

Despite Tarrio’s absence, the different Proud Boy leaders pressed on; the different 4 defendants were “a portion of each captious breach” of the Capitol that day, the authorities alleged.

Pezzola stole a riot shield from an serviceman and utilized it to bust out two windows of the Capitol – the archetypal constituent of entree to the building, prosecutors said. Once inside, Pezzola took a “victory smoke," allegedly celebrating the Proud Boys’ palmy plan.

Hernandez, Rehl's attorney, called for a mistrial erstwhile the authorities finished its opening remarks, citing purportedly misleading and inflammatory statements. Kelly, the presiding judge, denied the motion.

The defendants' attorneys volition springiness their opening remarks next.

Trump to blasted for Jan. 6 mob, Tarrio lawyer says

Tarrio’s attorney, Sabino Jauregui, argued successful tribunal Thursday that erstwhile President Donald Trump is to blasted for the mob that descended connected the Capitol connected Jan. 6, 2021 – not the longtime Proud Boys leader.

Trump said the predetermination was stolen, told his supporters to spell to the Capitol and “unleashed the mob,” Jauregui said.

Tarrio is the government's ‘scapegoat,’ lawyer says

Tarrio, person of the Proud Boys, is the government’s scapegoat for the Jan. 6 onslaught connected the U.S. Capitol, his lawyer argued successful tribunal Thursday.

“If the authorities takes down Enrique Tarrio, the authorities takes down the full Proud Boys organization,” said defence attorney Jauregui.

Jauregui argued that Tarrio wasn’t astatine the Capitol connected Jan. 6, 2021, and had nary connection with radical determination that day. But Tarrio “made it easy” for the authorities to overgarment him arsenic the villain, Jauregui added, suggesting the longtime president said “a batch of violative things” and liked to enactment connected “razzle-dazzle for the media.”

Defense: 'Over and implicit and over...' government witnesses said 'no plan'

Smith, Nordean’s attorney, argued that the events of Jan. 6, 2021 were a “historic embarrassment,” but Nordean’s actions connected that time were not portion of a broader conspiracy.

"Over and implicit and over&mldr;the authorities has been told by witnesses determination was nary program for Jan. 6," Smith said. "Even the government's own cooperating witnesses person said that."

Smith showed statements from the government’s cooperating witnesses – each Proud Boys leaders – that suggested the radical “did not ever preplan immoderate onslaught oregon breach of the Capitol,” that “everything that was expected to hap that time was a peaceful protest” and that “on the greeting of Jan. 6, nary 1 knew the plan.”

‘The not blameworthy video’

The defence lawyer for Pezzola replayed a video of the suspect smoking in the Capitol numerous times for the jury, claiming it showed determination was a antithetic extremity helium had successful caput than stopping the certification of 2020 predetermination results.

In the video, Pezzola is shown taking a “victory smoke” and says “I knew we could instrumentality this (expletive) implicit if we conscionable tried enough,” seemingly referring to the Capitol.

“It proves that Mr. Pezzola defined triumph arsenic ‘taking this (expletive),’” said defence lawyer Roger Root, suggesting the video proved stopping the predetermination certification was not the desired result for Pezzola.

Defense attorneys are inactive giving their opening remarks.

A question astir defence counsel

Whether defence attorney Norman Pattis tin proceed representing suspect Joseph Biggs has been thrown into question aft a Connecticut justice refused to enactment the six-month suspension of Pattis' instrumentality licence she handed down past week.

Pattis' licence was suspended for allegedly improperly releasing confidential records related to the Sandy Hook defamation lawsuit of conspiracist Alex Jones, whom Pattis represented.

For now, Pattis is allowed to beryllium connected the defence broadside of the barroom but cannot beryllium with counsel and volition not beryllium announced to the assemblage arsenic such. His role volition beryllium determined astatine a aboriginal date, Kelly said.

What we cognize astir the trial

The defendants began preparing for "war" soon aft the 2020 election, according to tribunal documents.

A caller Proud Boys section called the “Ministry of Self Defense” – made up of immoderate 65 “hand-selected” members – was created by Tarrio successful 2020 to program and partake successful nationalist rallies, including the D.C. rally acceptable for Jan. 6, 2021, prosecutors allege.

The time of the riot, the defendants allegedly “directed, mobilized and led” the mob past information measures and into the Capitol, sometimes utilizing violence.