[/quote]Proud Boys indicted on sedition charges. Four members of the Proud Boys and the group's former chair, Enrique Tarrio, have been charged with seditious conspiracy for their role in the January 6 riots last year. "The men had already been charged in an earlier indictment filed in March with conspiring to obstruct the certification of the 2020 presidential election," notes The New York Times.
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The new indictment marked the second time a far-right group has been charged with seditious conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6 attack. In January, Stewart Rhodes, the leader and founder of the far-right Oath Keepers militia, was arrested and charged along with 10 others with the same crime.
The charge of seditious conspiracy — which can be difficult to prove and carries particular legal weight as well as political overtones — requires prosecutors to show that at least two people agreed to use force to overthrow government authority or delay the execution of a U.S. law. It carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
It was not immediately clear what evidence led to the new charges, but the indictment underscored the central role played by the Proud Boys in the effort to forestall President Donald J. Trump's defeat and "oppose the lawful transfer of presidential power by force" by storming the Capitol.
The charges come as Congress is preparing for the first public hearing on the events of January 6. "Several major networks and cable news programs are expected to carry the first hearing live in its prime-time slot," notes the Associated Press. "The committee is also expected to live-stream it on C-SPAN and on its YouTube page."[/quote]
