four far-right activists convicted of sedition

First modification: 05/05/2023 – 10:56

With our correspondent in Miami, David Thomson

Four members of the far-right group Proud Boys, implicated in the storming of the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, were convicted Thursday of “sedition,” an extremely rare charge punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Its former leader, Enrique Tarrio, is among the four convicted. The sentence will be handed down later.

Five members of the group were tried in the Washington court, but the jury failed to agree on the “sedition” charge for the fifth defendant. The five were also found guilty of obstructing the work of Congress and destroying public property, among other charges.

“Weird and Serious”

It was one of the most emblematic trials on January 6 against one of the best-known Trump militias in the United States. When the verdict was announced, Enrique Tarrio remained impassive. He was not present the day of the attack on the Capitol, he had been arrested for another case, but the day before, in a parking lot in Washington, he had met with the leader of another far-right militia, the Oath Keepers, to prepare the demonstration. It was this meeting that earned them a conviction for sedition, an extremely rare charge used against Confederate rebels during the Civil War.

The accusation of sedition is very serious, explains to RFI Steven Ekovich, a professor at the American University of Paris: “Sedition is wanting to bring down the American government. It is rare and it is serious. For justice to reach such a verdict, it needs a case solid. The Department of Justice was very careful, they had the evidence, because obviously there is a political coloring, so it has to be really solid to show that this is not a political response, that this is really criminal. For the average American, the true patriot who wants to protect the integrity of the American government and state, this is good news, and can only reinforce the authority and prestige of Joe Biden,” he says.

“Our work will continue”

But, according to the researcher, this complicates things for Donald Trump, “because they were the ones who felt they were acting on the president’s orders. I can already see the political ads attacking Donald Trump, which will put some words next to the confessions of these people Donald Trump’s nonsense, which also touches on sedition. It’s a gold mine for political strategists.”

In addition to Enrique Tarrio, other members of the Proud Boys were convicted. They were on the front lines during the invasion of the temple of American democracy. Four of the five present on the bench are also convicted of conspiracy to prevent the certification of the elections and face sentences of up to 50 years in prison.

The Minister of Justice immediately celebrated the sentences. “We will do everything in our power,” Merrick Garland said, “to defend democracy, and our work will continue,” as a special counsel continues to investigate Donald Trump’s role in the Capitol storming.