Federal Judge Timothy Kelly has upheld a series of serious, federal criminal charges against members of the far-right extremist group the Proud Boys, numerous members of which participated in last year’s Trump-incited Capitol riot.
“In a 40-page opinion, Judge Kelly has *denied* motions by the Proud Boys leaders to dismiss seditious conspiracy and other charges against them,” Kyle Cheney of POLITICO reported late this Sunday. The attempt at undoing allegations including seditious conspiracy failed not long before a trial of these leaders within the Proud Boys on that charge is scheduled to begin. Before Judge Kelly, the trial starts next Monday, on December 19. It appears as though all five Proud Boys leaders who sought court action on their case were angling for the dismissal of seditious conspiracy allegations. Among the five, Dominic Pezzola was also challenging a charge that covered his alleged theft of a riot shield from police responding to the Capitol violence. Kelly denied all of the requests.
Cheney summarized that the judge found that federal prosecutors’ allegations sufficiently identified specific pieces of federal law that defendants allegedly sought to impede with their actions. Those portions of law include the 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Electoral Count Act, both of which govern the Congressional certification of presidential election results — a process that those involved in the Capitol violence specifically targeted. Charges of seditious conspiracy cover circumstances in which defendants are accused of seeking to impede the execution of U.S. law, among other possibly condemning acts. On the list are those who conspire “by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States.”
A recently concluded trial for leaders of the connected far-right group the Oath Keepers ended with the jury convicting two, including founder and national leader Stewart Rhodes, on the seditious conspiracy charge over actions taken in connection to the Capitol riot. Several others have pleaded guilty to the offense covering the same. A charge of seditious conspiracy carries up to 20 years in prison if convicted. It’s not yet clear what prosecutors will seek for punishment for Rhodes and others who have been or may soon be convicted of the charge. Prosecutors went all the way up to 15 years in their sentencing recommendations for Guy Reffitt, who was involved with another extremist group and was the first participant in the riot convicted at trial. Prosecutors also wanted 17 and a half years for convicted rioter Thomas Webster, who later received what’s apparently the longest sentence imposed on any rioter so far: 10 years, a stint in jail covering offenses including an attack on an officer.
Ahead of the Proud Boys trial, recent reporting notes that the defense has raised complaints about supposed federal intimidation or at least the threat of it targeting those involved in the case as witnesses. An individual who was present with one of the seditious conspiracy defendants the day before the riot has outlined allegations of threats of charges as federal personnel questioned her. The government has unequivocally challenged the characterization.
Image: Brett Davis/ Creative Commons
