Proud Boys Trial Is Set to Open, Focusing on Role in Jan. 6 Violence - The New York Times

[The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 onslaught volition clasp its past nationalist meeting. Follow for live updates.]

On the greeting of Jan. 6, 2021, arsenic scores of Proud Boys were getting acceptable to instrumentality their spot successful a pro-Trump mob extracurricular the Capitol, a person of the far-right radical sent a connection to his colleagues.

“I privation to spot thousands of normies pain that metropolis to ash today,” helium wrote.

Almost 2 years later, the conception that the Proud Boys wanted to provoke unit among the “normies” — oregon the mean radical — successful the assemblage that time rests astatine the bosom of the government’s lawsuit against 5 members of the radical who are facing proceedings connected charges of seditious conspiracy successful transportation with the Capitol attack.

At the trial, which begins with assemblage enactment connected Monday, prosecutors mean to reason that the 5 defendants turned the mob into a limb connected Jan. 6 and pointed it astatine the Capitol, wherever lawmakers had gathered to certify the results of the 2020 election, according to tribunal papers and pretrial hearings. It was each portion of a plot, the authorities volition say, to halt the lawful transportation of powerfulness and guarantee that President Donald J. Trump remained successful office.

While prosecutors could person taken the 5 Proud Boys to proceedings connected comparatively elemental charges similar trespassing oregon interfering with instrumentality enforcement officers, they alternatively aimed higher and charged sedition, which carries a hefty 20-year maximum condemnation and has overmuch much superior governmental connotations. But by doing so, the authorities has assumed the load of proving that the defendants plotted successful beforehand of Jan. 6 to usage unit to reason the authorization of the U.S. authorities oregon to interfere with the execution of national laws — successful this case, those that govern the transportation of statesmanlike power.

Much arsenic successful Mr. Rhodes’s trial, the government’s presumption successful the Proud Boys proceedings volition question to bolster its sedition charges with thousands of interior substance messages seized by the authorities and insider grounds from cooperating witnesses. But the differences betwixt the 2 proceedings whitethorn beryllium much instructive than their similarities.

For 1 thing, prosecutors ne'er accused Mr. Rhodes and his 4 co-defendants of personally committing superior acts of unit astatine the Capitol. Instead, they proved that the Oath Keepers plotted to usage unit against the authorities by pointing retired that the radical persistently said a civilian warfare mightiness beryllium needed to combat the medication of Joseph R. Biden Jr. and that connected Jan. 6 it stashed an arsenal of high-powered weapons successful edifice rooms successful Virginia.

But successful trying the Proud Boys, prosecutors program to instrumentality a antithetic tack: They volition connection the assemblage a elaborate relationship of however the 5 defendants — including Enrique Tarrio, the group’s erstwhile president — led their ain troops and different “tools” successful the mob into conflict astatine the Capitol and played a cardinal relation successful breaches of the building and successful hand-to-hand fights with the police.

Founded successful 2016 during Mr. Trump’s archetypal tally for office, the Proud Boys person agelong described themselves arsenic “Western chauvinists” retired to support American authorities from the supposedly corrosive effects of modern wide culture.

But thing other has ever simmered beneath that nationalist guise: a toxic stew of antheral grievance, misogyny, Islamophobia and anti-gay hatred, arsenic good arsenic a veneration of unit that has often boiled implicit into brawling successful the streets.

The authorities plans to archer immoderate of that past astatine the proceedings and to show however the Proud Boys, nether Mr. Tarrio’s leadership, became progressive successful pro-Trump rallies successful Washington aft the election. At 1 of those events, connected Dec. 12, 2020, Mr. Tarrio burned a Black Lives Matter banner that had been hanging astatine a section Black church; different members of the radical clashed with leftist counterprotesters, resulting successful a Proud Boys leader, Jeremy Bertino, getting stabbed.

A lingering effect of that incident, prosecutors program to argue, is that it turned the Proud Boys against the constabulary aft years of having troublingly adjacent relationships with officers crossed the country. The authorities wants to amusement the assemblage however the radical became disillusioned with instrumentality enforcement to explicate the events of Jan. 6, erstwhile members of the Proud Boys took the pb successful assaulting the police.

One week aft the December rally, Mr. Trump posted a connection connected Twitter that announced different protestation — which helium said would beryllium “wild” — successful Washington connected Jan. 6. Prosecutors volition effort to amusement that the Proud Boys heard the connection arsenic a clarion telephone and sprang into action.

Mr. Tarrio was not astatine the Capitol connected Jan. 6, having been kicked retired of Washington by a section justice aft helium returned to the metropolis 2 days earlier and was arrested implicit the banner-burning incident and for carrying 2 high-capacity firearm magazines.

But prosecutors program to reason to the assemblage that 3 of his co-defendants — Joseph Biggs of Ormond Beach, Fla.; Ethan Nordean of Auburn, Wash.; and Zachary Rehl of Philadelphia — took the pb connected the crushed that day. A 4th co-defendant — Dominic Pezzola of Rochester, N.Y. — is champion known for having breached 1 of the archetypal windows astatine the Capitol with a stolen constabulary riot shield.

As portion of the government’s case, jurors are besides apt to perceive from respective erstwhile Proud Boys who person since pleaded guilty, including 2 from North Carolina: Mr. Bertino and Charles Donohoe. The authorities whitethorn besides question to present grounds astir a papers called “1776 Returns” that was fixed to Mr. Tarrio by 1 of his girlfriends and elaborate a program to surveil and tempest respective authorities buildings astir the Capitol connected Jan. 6.

Recent tribunal filings suggest that the lawyers for the Proud Boys mean to equine a robust defense. Echoing the lawyers successful the Oath Keepers case, their cardinal statement volition beryllium to assertion that portion the defendants breached the Capitol building, they did not program the attack successful immoderate mode that roseate to the level of seditious conspiracy.

Indeed, the lawyers person claimed successful tribunal papers that galore of the government’s ain witnesses person provided statements to prosecutors contradicting the assertion that the Proud Boys had immoderate benignant of program to battle the Capitol. The lawyers person besides maintained that the F.B.I. had arsenic galore arsenic 8 informants successful the radical earlier Jan. 6 and that nary of them reported backmost astir an intent to tempest the building, raising questions, arsenic 1 lawyer wrote, astir “whether a Proud Boy conspiracy plan” to perpetrate sedition “ever existed oregon could person existed.”

In a much wide sense, the defence volition question to transportation the assemblage that the Proud Boys are not racist brawlers, arsenic they are often portrayed by the media, but much similar what the laminitis of the group, Gavin McInnes, has agelong described them as: a patriotic men’s drinking club. At 1 point, the lawyers had thought they mightiness telephone Mr. McInnes arsenic a witnesser for the defense, but that remains unclear.

As grounds that the Proud Boys had nary program to onslaught the Capitol, the lawyers whitethorn archer the jurors however a instrumentalist affable to the radical — Michale Graves, the erstwhile pb vocalist for the punk set Misfits — was expected to springiness a backstage performance astatine the rental flat connected the day oregon evening of Jan. 6.

The lawyers person besides accused the authorities of threatening to bring charges against respective different radical the defence wants to telephone arsenic witnesses astatine the trial.

In tribunal papers, the lawyers said they wanted to present grounds from Shannon Rusch, a erstwhile subordinate of the Navy SEALs who marched with Mr. Biggs and Mr. Nordean toward the Capitol connected Jan. 6, and Adrienna DiCioccio, a right-wing governmental organizer who was besides astatine the building. But they assertion the authorities is inactive investigating some Mr. Rusch’s household and Ms. DiCioccio, and has efficaciously frightened them distant from taking the stand.

The lawyers person raised akin claims astir a seasoned Washington constabulary officer, Lt. Shane Lamond, who could archer the assemblage however Mr. Tarrio was successful changeless interaction with him earlier and during Jan. 6. But prosecutors person been investigating Lieutenant Lamond’s narration with Mr. Tarrio for respective months, and his lawyer has said helium volition astir apt invoke his Fifth Amendment close against self-incrimination if called arsenic a witness.