Proud Boys leaders charged with seditious conspiracy in 6 January riot

The move by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) to charge Tarrio and four other Proud Boys members with seditious conspiracy in addition to previous charges of obstructing a congressional proceeding marks a major development in the criminal investigation of the Capitol attack.

It also comes in the same week the House select committee investigating the attack is due to begin televised public hearings.

Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the far-right Oath Keepers militia, is among other individuals who have been charged with seditious conspiracy over the riot.

The sedition charges against Tarrio and his co-defendants Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola came in an indictment unsealed in federal court in Washington on Monday.

The rare and serious charge of seditious conspiracy, which can be challenging to prove, requires federal prosecutors to show that at least two people agreed to use force to overthrow the government or to interfere with the execution of a federal law.

In the 33-page indictment, the DoJ painted a detailed picture of how it says the Proud Boys leaders used leadership-only group chats on encrypted messaging apps to coordinate plans to obstruct certification by storming the Capitol.

Tarrio was not in Washington DC on 6 January 2021, having been ordered to leave the capital by a judge after being arrested the day before for burning a Black Lives Matter banner at a church during a pro-Trump rally in December.

Eleven members of the Oath Keepers militia are also charged with seditious conspiracy.

Lawyers for Tarrio and the other four Proud Boys leaders have said there is no evidence they conspired to storm the Capitol, and that the MOSD group chats and the acquisition of tactical gear before 6 January were measures to protect themselves in case of potential altercations.