Proud Boys leader Cuban-American Enrique Tarrío and four other members of that far-right group were indicted Monday on sedition charges in connection with the January 6 assault on the US Capitol.
Tarrío, 38, faces other charges related to the failed attempt by supporters of former President Donald Trump to block the electoral victory of Democrat Joe Biden. The most serious against him and the other four members of the group is that of seditious conspiracy.
Tarrío was arrested in Miami last March. He is also charged with conspiracy to obstruct official proceedings, obstruction of law enforcement, destruction of government property and other crimes.
According to the Justice Department, more than 800 people have been arrested for storming Congress by Trump supporters, but only a handful face the seditious conspiracy, a charge that carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Stewart Rhodes, 56, the founder of another far-right organization, Oath Keepers, has also been charged with seditious conspiracy along with ten other members of the group. Three members of the Oath Keepers have pleaded guilty.
According to the indictment, Tarrío was not in Washington on January 6, but met with Rhodes on January 5 in an underground parking garage in Washington and was in contact with members of the Proud Boys who stormed the Capitol. Along with Tarrío, four other members of the Proud Boys, Dominic Pezzola, 44, Joseph Biggs, 38, Ethan Nordean, 31, and Zachary Rehl, 36, were charged with seditious conspiracy, in addition to their previous charges.
The indictment comes three days before a public hearing by the House Select Committee investigating the assault on the US Capitol.
The committee is trying to determine whether Trump or members of his circle played a role in planning or abetting the attack on Capitol Hill, and has subpoenaed advisers and aides to the former president.
The assault on the Capitol left at least five dead and 140 police officers injured. Trump was impeached a second time by the House of Representatives after those riots for inciting an insurrection, but was acquitted by the Senate, where only seven GOP members voted against him.
