Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, a leader of the right-wing extremist group, Proud Boys, could face up to 20 years in prison after a federal court jury declared him guilty of seditious conspiracy Thursday.
Axios reported the conviction stems from Tarrio’s involvement in the Capitol insurrection on January 6, where he took part in the attempt to prevent the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
According to United States Code, seditious conspiracy involves two or more persons in any U.S. territory, conspire to overthrow, put down, destroy, or levy war against the U.S. government, or prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any U.S. law.
“They shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both,” the law states.
The Proud Boys leader was arrested in Washington, D.C. just days before the riot for burning a Black Lives Matter banner outside a Black church in northwest D.C.
However, prosecutors claimed Tarrio took credit for the riot and cheered the group’s members on as the raided the capitol. A fifth defendant, Dominic Pezzola, was found guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding but did not face the charge of seditious conspiracy. Proud Boys members Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean, and Zachary Rehl, weren’t so lucky. They were convicted of seditious conspiracy along with Tarrio.
According to The Washington Post, in his closing argument Tuesday, defense attorney Nayib Hassan, said it :was Donald Trump’s words, it was his motivation, it was his anger that caused what occurred on January 6 in your amazing and beautiful city,” Hassan said. “They want to use Enrique Tarrio as a scapegoat for Donald Trump and those in power.”
The Department of Justice reported over 1,020 charges since the riot at the Capitol and more than 500 have pleaded guilty to charges. Five people died in the January 6 attack, including a police officer.
