![]() Jeremy Joseph Bertino, a former Proud Boys leader from North Carolina, was the first member of that extremist group to plead guilty to seditious conspiracy in October.Ī statement of offense filed in court said that Bertino understood the Proud Boys’ goal in traveling to Washington was to stop the certification of Biden and that the group was prepared to use force and violence. Four other Oath Keepers were convicted of seditious conspiracy at a second trial. Three other Oath Keepers associates were acquitted of the charge but were convicted of other felonies that carry significant prison time. The Justice Department in November won seditious conspiracy convictions against Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and Florida Chapter leader Kelly Meggs after a two-month trial in the same federal court in Washington. ![]() WHO HAS FACED SIMILAR CHARGES IN THE JAN. Conviction calls for up 20 years in prison. To prevail at trial, it’s not enough to merely show defendants advocated the use of force - prosecutors must show they conspired to use force. The indictment alleged that they conspired to forcibly oppose the authority of the federal government and to use force to prevent the execution of laws having to do with the transfer of power. Tarrio and his co-defendants were accused of conspiring to block the transfer of power from Trump to Biden. government or bring war against it, or that they plotted to use force to oppose the authority of the government or to block the execution of a law. In order to win a seditious conspiracy case, prosecutors have to prove that two or more people conspired to “overthrow, put down or to destroy by force” the U.S. The charge can be difficult to prove, especially in cases when an alleged plot is unsuccessful. Sedition cases have been rare in recent history. The seditious conspiracy law was enacted after the Civil War to arrest Southerners who might keep fighting the U.S. ![]() Jurors cleared Pezzola of the sedition charge, though he was convicted of other serious felonies. Nordean, Biggs and Rehl were also convicted Thursday of seditious conspiracy. Prosecutors said Pezzola allowed the first rioters to enter the Capitol by using a police riot shield to shatter a window. Tarrio, from Miami, stood trial with Ethan Nordean of Auburn, Washington, who was a Proud Boys chapter president Joseph Biggs of Ormond Beach, Florida, a self-described Proud Boys organizer Zachary Rehl, president of the Proud Boys chapter in Philadelphia and Dominic Pezzola, a Proud Boys member from Rochester, New York. They contended that the actions of the Proud Boys who joined the pro-Trump mob were spontaneous rather than the culmination of a premeditated plot. 6 - he was arrested in a separate case two days earlier - but authorities say he helped put the violence into motion and cheered on the riot from afar as it unfolded.ĭefense attorneys told jurors there was no plot to storm the Capitol or block Congress' certification of President Joe Biden's victory. Prosecutors sought to prove Tarrio and four co-defendants plotted for weeks to use force to keep then-President Donald Trump in power. Here’s a look at the charge of seditious conspiracy and its history:
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