Proud Boys Members Found Guilty of Seditious Conspiracy, Face Decades in Prison

Four leaders of the pro-Trump group Proud Boys were convicted of seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6 trial, according to verdicts announced on Thursday.

The Proud Boys founder and leader, Enrique Tarrio, as well as members Joe Biggs, Ethan Nordean, and Zachary Rehl, all face a maximum of 20 years in prison for the charge of seditious conspiracy.

Here’s the definition of “seditious conspiracy” from 18 U.S. Code § 2384:

If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.

Tarrio was also found guilty of “obstructing Congress’ certification of President Joe Biden’s electoral victory,” and “obstructing law enforcement as well as two other conspiracy charges,” the Associated Press reports.

Here’s a report on the verdicts from Fake News CNN:

Conservatives on social media reeled at the verdict.

The jury reached the verdict despite evidence showing FBI informants infiltrated Proud Boy chat rooms and planted evidence.

CBS NEWS reports on why the jury only delivered a “partial” verdict:

There was no verdict for Dominic Pezzola on the most serious charge, seditious conspiracy, and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. After the reading of the partial verdict, Judge Timothy Kelly sent the jury back to deliberate on these charges and several other felonies that they did not come to verdict on.