Proud Boys Leaders Indicted On Seditious Conspiracy Charges Over Capitol Attack

Five members of the Proud Boys street gang — including their leader, Enrique Tarrio — were indicted Monday on seditious conspiracy charges for their role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., returned the rare indictment, which charges that Tarrio and four other members of the Proud Boys — Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola — played an outsize role in the planning and execution of the insurrection. A sixth Proud Boy, Charles Donohoe, wasn’t included because he’d already pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in a plea deal that will force him to testify against his fellow gang members.

Dozens of Proud Boys were among the thousands of people who stormed the U.S. Capitol that day in an effort to stop the certification of Joe Biden as president. Prosecutors say that Tarrio and his fellow defendants were instrumental in the planning stages of the attack; Tarrio allegedly looked over a document titled “1776 Returns” on Dec. 30, 2020, detailing plans to occupy several buildings in Washington on Jan. 6, including six House and Senate office buildings.

Several people died as a result of the attack on the Capitol, including police officers, and hundreds more were injured.

The seditious conspiracy charges will be slapped on top of the conspiracy charges each member already faced. They’re scheduled to appear together in court on June 9.

The indictment comes the same week that a House committee tasked with investigating the events of Jan. 6 is prepared to hold its first hearings.