♪♪
geoff: Welcome to the newshour.
A partial verdict has been
handed down for members of the
far-right extremist group the
proud boys and their involvement
in the January 6th attack on the
U.S. Capitol.
Amna: A federal jury today found
four members of the proud boys
guilty of seditious conspiracy.
That includes the group's former
leader, Enrique tarrio, along
with members Ethan nordean,
Joseph Biggs, and Zachary Rehl.
A fifth member, Dominic pezzola,
was found not guilty of
seditious conspiracy.
But he and the others were
convicted of obstruction and
destruction of property.
Attorney general Merrick Garland
spoke about the justice
department's victory earlier
today.
>> The department has secured
more than 600 convictions for a
wide range of criminal conduct
on January 6, as well as in the
days and weeks leading up to the
attack.
We have secured the convictions
of defendants who fought,
punched, tackled, and even tased
police officers who were
defending the capitol that day.
Amna: NPR's national justice
correspondent Carrie Johnson has
been following all of this
closely from the courtroom.
Let's begin with the sedition
conviction.
What did prosecutors argue they
did and how did they prove the
case?
Reporter: They argued the men
lined up as a fighting force for
Donald Trump and agreed to do
everything they could, including
force, to keep trump in power
and basically over -- overturn
the results of the election.
That presidential debate where
trump asked the proud boys to
stand back but stand by was the
start.
Then trump said it would be
wild, to come to the riot, and
then tracing to the chat rooms
and podcasts.
Amna: Henrique Terrio was not
even at the capital or in
Washington during the attack.
What did we hear from defense
attorneys?
Reporter:'s attorney say he is a
scapegoat for the former
president and that it is too
hard to charge trump with range
-- wrongdoing so they went after
henrique instead.
He did watch the attack from a
hotel room in Baltimore, in part
because he was in trouble for
defacing the banner at an
African-American church in D.C..
But he watched from afar and
sometimes directed his troops on
the ground.
He posted, make no mistake, we
did this.
Amna: The proud boys is a
far-right extremist groups --
extremist group founded in 2016.
How much did the trial reveal
about the danger they still pose
today?
Reporter: The proud boys call
themselves a chauvinist
organization.
They try to show themselves as a
drinking club or party group but
the government says it is a much
darker group.
They took a victory smoke after
the seizure on the capital.
-- The siege on the capital.
The prosecutor save these
defendants were bent on
violence.
Amna: You have covered previous
convictions of the oath keepers.
Did that trial and outcome
relate to today's outcome?
Reporter: The justice department
has successfully convicted
leaders of both of the far-right
groups of seditious conspiracy.
The most serious charge we have
seen to come out of this
investigation.
It certainly is vindication of
the justice department strategy.
Those charges are very hard to
prove but now they have proved
leaders of two different
far-right groups played an
enormous rolls on the ground and
were engaged in violent efforts
to overthrow the government.
It is significant as part of the
broader investigation that
continues as Merrick Garland
said today.
Amna: There was a mistrial
declared on a few trials where a
jury could not reach a verdict.
>> The defendants were convicted
on other pretty serious
felonies.
Some of them carry a 20 year
maximum behind bars so when
sentenced in August they
certainly all face a long prison
term and it is unclear if the
justice department will retrial
so it might be that they take
the victory and go home.
Amna: Will the men appeal?
>> Vittorio's lawyer says they
are disappointed in the verdict
and are placing hopes on the
appeal court.
There have been so many motions
for his trials during this I
can't even count.
All lawyers have raised
objections for the record.
I think there will be a hearty
appeal from all defendants
convicted today.
Amna: Carrie Johnson joining us
tonight.
Always good to talk with you.
Thank you.