At the Proud Boys leaders’ trial on Monday, a prosecutor testified that before the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2022, the defendants were “hungry for violence and organized action.”
The criminal trial of five members of the far-right group is coming to an end, and assistant attorney Conor Mulro told jurors in his closing speech that the Proud Boys see themselves as the former president’s ‘fighting force’ Donald Trump and were “prepared to commit violence in his name” to repudiate his defeat in the 2020 election.
“For these defendants, politics was no longer just about debating or voting (in an election),” Mulro said. “For them, politics meant a real physical struggle.”
Former Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, along with Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola, are charged with incitement to conspiracy and other crimes in what prosecutors described as a plot to use violence to disrupt the transition of presidential power. . .
Prosecutors allege the group played a prominent role in the Jan. 6 riots, when thousands of Trump supporters attacked the Capitol in an attempt to prevent Congress from confirming Joe Biden’s victory over Trump.
Five people died; more than 140 police officers were injured. To date, more than 1,000 suspects have been charged.
During the four-month trial, jurors saw posts from Proud Boys leaders discussing the Civil War and physical attacks on left-wing protesters and police.
Lawyers for the defendants argued there was no plan to attack the Capitol and accused prosecutors of gathering reports in an attempt to prove a vast conspiracy.
Defense officials are expected to present their closing arguments at trial later Monday.
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