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  • Informant didn’t spy on Proud Boys protection, prosecutors say

    Prosecutors on Thursday mentioned that the FBI informant was by no means instructed to assemble details about the far-right Proud Boys group or their attorneys.

    Proud Boys members Zachary Rehl, left, and Ethan Nordean, stroll towards the US Capitol in Washington, in assist of President Donald Trump, Jan. 6, 2021. (File photograph: AP)

    By Associated Press: As revelations {that a} protection witness was additionally an FBI informant roil the already contentious Capitol riot trial of members of the far-right Proud Boys group, prosecutors mentioned Thursday that the informant was by no means instructed to assemble details about the defendants or their attorneys.

    The FBI ended its relationship with the informant this previous January after it discovered that the particular person had obtained a subpoena to testify, an agent mentioned in an affidavit filed in courtroom.

    US District Judge Timothy Kelly mentioned there’s no clear proof of wrongdoing by the federal government and allowed the trial to proceed Friday, however can be set to listen to extra arguments about how deeply enmeshed the informant was with the case.

    The authorities solely came upon from the protection crew that the informant had been speaking with the protection and had participated in “prayer meetings” with relations of no less than one of many Proud Boys on trial, prosecutors mentioned. They known as recommendations of presidency misconduct “baseless.”

    The revelation got here Wednesday when protection lawyer Carmen Hernandez mentioned in courtroom papers that the protection crew was instructed by prosecutors that afternoon that the witness they had been planning to name to the stand on the subsequent day had been a authorities informant.

    “From our point of view, this is alarming, shocking, troublesome,” Hernandez, who’s representing Proud Boy Zachary Rehl, throughout an emergency listening to on the matter held after the decide canceled testimony for the day.

    The informant had been set to testify for former Proud Boys chief Enrique Tarrio and had met together with his attorneys in preparation for testimony. The informant additionally had protection contacts, together with sending a “constant drumbeat” of unsolicited messages to 1 lawyer and really useful potential witnesses to a different.

    “I’ve lost confidence in the process,” mentioned Norman Pattis, who mentioned the informant had greater than two dozen calls together with his consumer, together with about authorized points.

    It’s the newest twist within the trial, which is without doubt one of the most severe to emerge from the Jan. 6 assault that halted Congress’ certification of President Joe Biden’s victory, despatched lawmakers working and left dozens of cops injured.

    Tarrio, Rehl and three different Proud Boys — Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean and Dominic Pezzola — are charged with seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors allege was a plot to dam the switch of presidential energy from Donald Trump to Biden after the 2020 election.

    Tarrio, a Miami resident, served as nationwide chairman for the far-right extremist group, whose members describe it as a politically incorrect males’s membership for “Western chauvinists.” He and the opposite Proud Boys may withstand 20 years in jail if convicted of seditious conspiracy.

    Prosecutors mentioned the FBI was “generally aware” that the informant was “active in assisting defendants charged with crimes related to the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol and their families, including by assisting in fundraising efforts and protesting against their conditions of confinement,” prosecutors wrote.

    But investigators “intentionally chose to never ask” the informant in regards to the particular person’s relationship with Tarrio or every other defendants or attorneys concerned within the case, they mentioned.

    “That certain defendants or defense counsel chose to communicate with the (confidential human source) about matters related to this prosecution is a decision made by them. However, the government in no way orchestrated such alleged voluntary interactions,” prosecutors wrote.

    Defense attorneys didn’t title the informant of their courtroom submitting, however mentioned it’s any person who served as an informant for the federal government from April 2021 by way of no less than January 2023, although the unique contact dated again to 2019.

    The Justice Department considers the scenario “very serious,” and has shared paperwork in an effort to indicate the informant was by no means requested for any details about the trial protection, mentioned Denise Cheung, performing deputy chief of the felony division, on the listening to.

    It’s not the primary time the federal government’s use of informants has change into a difficulty within the case. Defense attorneys have repeatedly pushed to get extra details about informants within the far-right extremist group as they attempt to undermine the notion that the group had a plan to assault the Capital on Jan. 6.

    FBI Agent Nicole Miller testified final week that she was conscious of two informants within the Proud Boys, together with one who marched on the Capital on Jan. 6.

    Capitol rioters face authorized fates

    Track the authorized paths of the folks arrested within the wake of the Jan 6, 2021 US Capitol assault.

    Law enforcement routinely makes use of informants in felony investigations, however their strategies and identities will be carefully guarded secrets and techniques. Federal authorities haven’t publicly launched a lot details about their use of informants in investigating the Proud Boys’ position in a mob’s assault on the Capitol on Jan 6.

    Nordean, of Auburn, Washington, was a Proud Boys chapter chief. Biggs, of Ormond Beach, Florida, was a self-described Proud Boys organizer. Rehl was president of the Proud Boys chapter in Philadelphia. Pezzola was a Proud Boys member from Rochester, New York.

    Posted By:

    Manisha Pandey

    Published On:

    Mar 24, 2023

  • Proud Boys charged with seditious conspiracy in Capitol riot

    The former high chief of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group and different members had been charged with seditious conspiracy for what federal prosecutors say was a coordinated assault on the U.S. Capitol to cease Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory.

    The newest indictment in opposition to Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, the previous Proud Boys chairman, and 4 others linked to the group comes because the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot prepares to start public hearings this week to put out its findings.

    The indictment Monday alleges that the Proud Boys conspired to forcibly oppose the lawful switch of presidential energy. Tarrio and the others — Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola — had been beforehand charged with completely different conspiracy counts.

    They are scheduled to face trial in August in Washington, D.C.’s federal courtroom.

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    The seditious conspiracy expenses are among the many most severe filed to this point, however aren’t the primary of their sort. Eleven members or associates of the anti-government Oath Keepers militia group, together with its founder and chief Stewart Rhodes, had been indicted in January on seditious conspiracy expenses in a severe escalation within the largest investigation within the Justice Department’s historical past.

    Three Oath Keepers have already pleaded responsible to the not often used Civil War-era cost that requires as much as 20 years in jail. The indictment alleges that the Oath Keepers and their associates ready within the weeks main as much as Jan. 6 as in the event that they had been going to struggle, discussing issues like weapons and coaching.

    Tarrio, the group’s high chief, wasn’t in Washington, D.C., when the riot erupted on Jan. 6, 2021, however authorities say he helped put into movement the violence that day.

    Police arrested Tarrio in Washington two days earlier than the riot and charged him with vandalizing a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic Black church throughout a protest in December 2020. Tarrio was launched from jail on Jan. 14 after serving his five-month sentence for that case.

    Protestors climbing the Capitol Hill constructing through the siege on January 6, 2021. (AP Photo)

    An lawyer for Tarrio stated his consumer “is going to have his day in court.”

    “And we intend to vigorously represent him through that process,” stated Nayib Hassan.

    Defense lawyer Carmen Hernendez, who represents Rehl, stated her consumer is “as innocent of these charges as the ones that had already been pending against him.”

    “Seditious conspiracy requires the use of force, and he never used any force nor thought about using any force,” Hernandez stated.

    More than three dozen individuals charged within the Capitol siege have been recognized by federal authorities as leaders, members or associates of the Proud Boys, whose members describe it as a politically incorrect males’s membership for “Western chauvinists.”

    They have brawled with antifascist activists at rallies and protests. Vice Media co-founder Gavin McInnes, who based the Proud Boys in 2016, sued the Southern Poverty Law Center for labeling it as a hate group.

    The indictment alleges that the Proud Boys held conferences and communicated over encrypted messages to plan for the assault within the days main as much as Jan. 6. On the day of the riot, authorities say Proud Boys dismantled steel barricades set as much as shield the Capitol and mobilized, directed and led members of the group into the constructing.

    Prosecutors have stated the Proud Boys organized for members to speak utilizing particular frequencies on Baofeng radios. The Chinese-made gadgets might be programmed to be used on a whole lot of frequencies, making it troublesome for outsiders to eavesdrop.

    Shortly earlier than the riot, authorities say Tarrio posted on social media that the group deliberate to prove in “record numbers” on Jan. 6, however can be “incognito” as a substitute of donning their conventional clothes colours of black and yellow.

    Around the identical time, an unnamed particular person despatched Tarrio a doc that laid out plans for occupying a couple of “crucial buildings” in Washington on Jan. 6, together with House and Senate workplace buildings across the Capitol, the indictment says. The nine-page doc was entitled “1776 Returns” and known as for having as “many people as possible” to “show our politicians We the People are in charge,” based on the indictment.

    People shelter within the House gallery as protesters attempt to break into the House Chamber on the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP)

    Nordean, of Auburn, Washington, was a Proud Boys chapter president and a member of the group’s nationwide “Elders Council.” Biggs, of Ormond Beach, Florida, is a self-described Proud Boys organizer. Rehl was president of the Proud Boys chapter in Philadelphia. Pezzola is a Proud Boy member from Rochester, New York.

    A New York man pleaded responsible in December to storming the U.S. Capitol with fellow Proud Boys members. Matthew Greene was the primary Proud Boys member to publicly plead responsible to conspiring with different members to cease Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote. Greene agreed to cooperate with authorities investigating the assault.

    In images | 25 images that present the horror of Trump supporters storming Capitol Hill

    Another Proud Boy, Charles Donohoe, of Kernersville, North Carolina, pleaded responsible in April to conspiracy and assault expenses and in addition agreed to cooperate within the Justice Department’s instances in opposition to different members of the extremist group.

    In December, a federal decide refused to dismiss an earlier indictment charging alleged leaders of the Proud Boys with conspiring to dam the certification of Biden’s electoral school win. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly rejected protection attorneys’ arguments that the boys had been charged with conduct that’s protected by the First Amendment proper to free speech.

  • US Capitol riot: DC authorities sues Proud Boys, Oath Keepers

    District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine on Tuesday introduced a civil lawsuit in opposition to two extremist teams over their position within the January 6 assault on the US Capitol Hill.
    The Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, together with greater than 30 people who’re related to the teams, have been accused of “conspiring to terrorise the District of Columbia,” based on Racine.
    “I’m suing the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, the first civil lawsuit by a government entity against the Jan. 6 insurrectionists. They caused extensive damage to the District (of Columbia, DC), our democracy and particularly the brave men and women of our Metropolitan Police Department,” Racine stated on Twitter.
    Racine went on to say: “I’m seeking damages in this case and will keep working to ensure such an assault never happens again.”
    The January 6 riot
    On January 6, tons of of supporters of former US President Donald Trump stormed into the US Capitol in a bid to disrupt the affirmation of President Joe Biden’s victory.
    Lawmakers have been compelled into hiding as protesters breached safety.
    In the chaos, 5 folks have been killed and plenty of extra have been injured. Various those that have been arrested have been recognized as being concerned with extremist teams.
    Trump and his allies have been accused of inciting the rioters in a speech shortly earlier than the violence broke out. Last week, a federal courtroom of appeals dominated in opposition to Trump, who had tried to maintain White House paperwork regarding the January 6 Capitol breach secret.
    The three-judge panel rejected Trump’s declare that the paperwork have been protected by govt privilege, saying they have been in actual fact very important for an investigation into what led tons of of individuals to assault the Capitol.
    Several particular person members of the Oath Keepers have been accused of conspiring to dam the congressional certification of Biden’s victory. At least considered one of them thus far has pleaded responsible in a conspiracy case and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
    Who are the Proud Boys?
    The Proud Boys are categorised as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and plenty of different civil rights organisations.
    The group was established in 2016 by Canadian-British right-wing activist and Vice Media co-founder Gavin McInnes. He has since distanced himself from the group.
    The Canadian group classifies the Proud Boys as a terrorist group.
    The all-male organisation, which describes itself as a haven for “Western chauvinists,” holds a historical past of avenue violence in opposition to left-wing teams and activists.
    Who are the Oath Keepers?
    The Oath Keepers is a right-wing organisation fashioned in 2009 by military veteran Stuart Rhodes, shortly after the election of Barack Obama. The group seeks to uphold and defend its interpretation of the structure.
    Its title – the Oath Keepers – refers back to the concept of taking an oath which legislation enforcement officers and members of the army undertake.
    According to its management, the group is made up of present and former members of the army and legislation enforcement.
    A core doc the group follows known as the “Declaration of orders we will not obey.” These are 10 particular orders members of the group will refuse to obey. These embrace refusing to disarm American folks, refusing to put Americans in detention camps and refusing to blockade US cities amongst different orders.

  • ‘Bomb-making manuals’ present in house of Proud Boy who stormed US Capitol

    U.S. legislation enforcement brokers discovered bomb-making directions inside the house of a member of the Proud Boys right-wing extremist group who was charged with taking part within the Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol, prosecutors stated on Friday.
    Dominic Pezzola, 43, had “weapons- and bomb-making manuals” on a thumb drive system discovered inside his house close to Rochester, New York, prosecutors stated in a court docket submitting arguing that he needs to be jailed pending trial.
    More than 135 folks have been arrested thus far in reference to the rampage by supporters of then-President Donald Trump that interrupted the formal congressional certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory, pressured lawmakers to hurry to security and left 5 folks lifeless together with a police officer.
    The Justice Department stated Pezzola and one other member of the Proud Boys, William Pepe, 31, of Beacon, New York, had been indicted on cost together with conspiracy, civil dysfunction and unlawfully getting into restricted buildings or grounds.
    Pezzola was additionally indicted on further costs together with obstruction of an official continuing, theft of private property of the United States, and assaulting, resisting or impeding officers, the Justice Department stated.
    Separately, the FBI stated bombs discovered on the Capitol Hill headquarters of the Democratic and Republican National Committees had been positioned there the night earlier than the assault.
    The FBI elevated a reward for details about the incident to as much as $100,000. Pezzola, referred to as “Spaz” to associates, poses a “serious danger to the community and a serious risk of flight,” the prosecution temporary said.

    Pezzola was arrested in New York. A lawyer for Pezzola, Mike Scibetta, stated in an e mail that, to his information, the thumb drive was given to Pezzola, was by no means opened by him, and contained a “survivalist” guide.
    “The government has cherry-picked a small portion of the paper to suit their narrative,” Scibetta stated. The prosecution court docket submitting, citing social media posts, stated Pezzola was one of many first rioters to enter the Capitol.

    Prosecutors stated he used a police defend to interrupt a window, permitting different protesters to enter the constructing. Once contained in the Capitol, Pezzola chased a police officer up the steps close to the doorway to the Senate chamber and smoked a cigar whereas bragging on video in regards to the assault, prosecutors stated.

  • Man who sat at Pelosi aide’s desk faces fees; FBI probes officer’s loss of life

    A West Virginia state lawmaker and a person pictured sitting at an aide’s desk in U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s workplace are amongst these dealing with federal fees stemming from the siege on the U.S. Capitol by President Donald Trump’s supporters, federal prosecutors stated on Friday.
    In a associated growth, Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen introduced the FBI would group up with Washington’s police division to collectively examine the loss of life of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was injured whereas defending the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
    “Just because you’ve left the D.C. region, you can still expect a knock on the door if we find out you were part of the criminal activity at the Capitol,” Steven D’antuono, the FBI Washington Field Office’s assistant director in cost, advised reporters in a phone information briefing. The Justice Department on Friday launched particulars on 13 defendants who had been charged within the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for his or her roles in reference to the Capitol riots.
    They included Cleveland Meredith, who was charged with threatening Pelosi in addition to possession of an unregistered firearm and unregistered ammunition, and Richard Barnett, the Gravette, Arkansas, man who was photographed sitting at Pelosi’s desk and is also called Bigo.
    “The shocking images of Mr. Barnett with his boots up on a desk in the speaker of the House’s office on Wednesday was repulsive,” Rosen stated in a press release. “Those who’re confirmed to have dedicated prison acts through the storming of the Capitol will face justice.
    “Prosecutors additionally charged Nick Ochs, a outstanding member of the Proud Boys, with being within the Capitol unlawfully, primarily based largely on a photograph he posted on Twitter of himself smoking a cigarette within the Capitol together with the caption “Hello from the Capital lol.
    “Among others dealing with fees had been Lonnie Coffman of Falkville, Alabama – whose truck parked close to the Capitol and inspected by police contained 11 Molotov cocktails in addition to firearms – and Mark Leffingwell, who’s accused of assaulting a police officer.
    Ken Kohl, a prosecutor within the U.S. Attorney’s Office, advised reporters within the information briefing that West Virginia Delegate Derrick Evans additionally faces prison fees after he apparently “recorded himself storming the Capitol.
    “John Bryan, an attorney for Evans, said in a statement that his client is “an independent activist and journalist” who was exercising his First Amendment rights to peacefully protest and movie a historic and dynamic occasion” and didn’t interact in violence.
    Leffingwell and Meredith each made digital courtroom appearances in Washington, D.C. on Friday night. Several others appeared in federal courtroom in different states.Leffingwell’s spouse Julie advised the decide her husband works at a packaging plant in Seattle, and his lawyer stated his shopper is a disabled veteran who suffered a traumatic mind harm whereas he was serving in Iraq.
    Magistrate Judge Michael Harvey launched Leffingwell from custody however ordered him to not possess any firearms and to report back to pretrial companies on a weekly foundation. Meredith, 52, advised the decide he’s unemployed after promoting his enterprise in 2019.The decide ordered he should stay in custody, pending a listening to on Jan. 13.
    In addition to the 13 folks dealing with prison fees in U.S. District Court, one other 40 folks had been dealing with lesser fees within the District of Columbia Superior Court, an area venue.

    Many of these people had been arraigned on Thursday and launched, with an order from the decide to not return to Washington until it’s for courtroom appearances or conferences with their attorneys.D’antuono on Friday declined to characterize the probe of Sicknick’s loss of life as a murder investigation through the briefing, saying the circumstances had been nonetheless being reviewed.”We’re not going to enter it at this level as a result of it’s an lively investigation,” he stated.
    Capitol Police confirmed late on Thursday night that Sicknick had died after struggling accidents whereas on obligation on the U.S. Capitol through the riot. After being injured by protesters, the officer returned to his workplace the place he collapsed. He died at a hospital. Capitol Police have stated the Washington police’s murder unit was probing the loss of life.
    Pelosi on Friday ordered flags on the Capitol lowered to half-staff in honor of Sicknick.

  • Proud Boys chief banned, arrests made in US election protests

    Washington police banned the chief of a far-right group from town and made two arrests on Tuesday as protesters supporting President Donald Trump’s makes an attempt to overturn the election gathered within the metropolis.
    Enrique Tarrio, the chief of the Proud Boys, who was arrested on Monday for destruction of property and possession of a firearm journal, was launched Tuesday and ordered to steer clear of town, in line with a court docket doc.

    Protests towards President-elect Joe Biden’s November election win, which Congress will certify on Wednesday, began throughout the US capital on Tuesday and have been anticipated to swell on Wednesday to 1000’s of individuals. The outgoing president, who misplaced the election by 7 million votes, was anticipated to talk to protesters on Wednesday morning on the Ellipse, a public park south of the White House, he stated in a submit on Twitter on Tuesday night.
    “BIG CROWDS!” he predicted within the submit. “Washington is being inundated with people who don’t want to see an election victory stolen by emboldened Radical Left Democrats,” Trump tweeted earlier on Tuesday, in addition to “See you in D.C.!,” with a hyperlink to “WinRed,” a fundraising web site along with his photograph on it.

    Washington is being inundated with individuals who don’t need to see an election victory stolen by emboldened Radical Left Democrats. Our Country has had sufficient, they received’t take it anymore! We hear you (and love you) from the Oval Office. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
    — Donald J. Trump (@actualDonaldTrump) January 5, 2021
    Tarrio, who was first arrested in reference to the burning of a Black Lives Matter banner on a church on Dec. 12, was carrying two unloaded excessive capability firearm magazines bearing insignia and symbols utilized by the Proud Boys, together with a laurel wreath surrounding the letters “PB,” in line with charging court docket paperwork filed on Tuesday.
    Separately, a person from North Carolina was arrested on Tuesday and charged with carrying a pistol and not using a license, carrying a rifle or a shotgun outdoors a house or enterprise, possession of a large-capacity ammunition feeding machine, unregistered ammunition, an unregistered firearm, and possession of fireworks, a police spokesman stated.
    Police additionally arrested a person from North Carolina for driving an unauthorized van and not using a allow.

    Several hundred Trump supporters took half in rallies on Tuesday, together with Bob Kowell, 67, a retired Boeing Co electrical engineer, who traveled from Murrieta, California.
    Trump has alleged with out proof that the election was rigged. Dozens of court docket choices, state election officers and the US Department of Justice refute this declare. “There is a lot of evidence,” Kowell stated. “You just haven’t looked at it. There is just too much evidence out there.”