Federal prosecutors rested their seditious conspiracy case against former Proud Boys leader and four lieutenants charged with plotting to stop the transfer of presidential power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden after .
Jurors will hear testimony from defense witnesses before deliberating in one of the most serious cases to come out of the Justice Department鈥檚 massive investigation of .
Defense attorneys have argued there is no evidence the Proud Boys plotted to and stop Congress from certifying Biden鈥檚 electoral victory. Norm Pattis, an attorney for former Proud Boys leader Joseph Biggs, said the group Boys had no plan, 鈥渘o understanding鈥� and no 鈥渋mplicit conspiracy鈥� for Jan. 6.
鈥淭hey did not come to your home to cause a riot,鈥� Pattis told jurors on Monday.
The jury in Washington's federal court has heard more than 30 days of testimony over more than two months by more than 20 prosecution witnesses, including two former Proud Boys members who are cooperating with the government in hopes of lighter sentences.
Tarrio, a Miami resident who served as national chairman of the group, and the other Proud Boys could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of .
The case comes on the heels of of Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and a Florida leader of the antigovernment group. Four other Oath Keepers were in January. Rhodes and other Oath Keepers are scheduled to be sentenced in May.
Also on trial with Tarrio and Biggs are Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola.
Nordean, of Auburn, Washington, was a Proud Boys chapter leader. Biggs, of Ormond Beach, Florida, was a self-described Proud Boys organizer. Rehl was president of the Proud Boys chapter in Philadelphia. Pezzola was a Proud Boys member from Rochester, New York.
Nordean's attorney called the first defense witnesses, including former Proud Boys member Travis Nugent, of Vancouver, Washington. Nugent, who hasn't been charged with any riot-related crimes, testified that he was shocked to see rioters breach police barricades near the Capitol.
鈥淚t definitely felt spontaneous to me,鈥� Nugent said. 鈥淚 didn't know it was going to happen.鈥�
鈥淵ou had every reason to expect violence, didn't you?鈥� prosecutor Conor Mulroe asked Nugent during his cross-examination.
鈥淣o,鈥� Nugent replied.
Most of the defendants aren鈥檛 accused of engaging in violence themselves. Tarrio wasn鈥檛 even at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Police in Washington, D.C., on separate charges two days before the riot, and he heeded a judge鈥檚 order to leave the nation鈥檚 capital.
鈥淚t鈥檚 too hard to blame Trump,鈥� Sabino Jauregui, one of Tarrio鈥檚 lawyers, said during the trial's opening statements. 鈥淚t鈥檚 easier to blame Enrique as the face of the Proud Boys.鈥�
Prosecutors have employed an unusual theory that Proud Boys leaders mobilized a handpicked group of foot soldiers 鈥� or 鈥渢ools鈥� 鈥� to supply the force necessary to carry out their plot by . Defense attorneys have dismissed the government鈥檚 鈥渢ools鈥� theory as a novel, flawed concept with no legal foundation.
Jurors have seen hundreds of messages that Tarrio and other Proud Boys privately exchanged on the Telegram platform and publicly on social media before, during and after the Jan. 6 attack. The messages show the Proud Boys becoming increasingly agitated as Trump's legal challenges fail in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6. The messages also show the Proud Boys celebrating the attack on the Capitol and their role in it.
In one exchange shown to jurors, Tarrio urged his fellow extremists to stay at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
鈥淢ake no mistake,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淲e did this.鈥�
That evening, Rehl's mom asked if he was OK.
鈥淚'm ok!鈥� Rehl replied. 鈥淪eems like our raid of the capital set off a chain reaction of events throughout the country. i鈥檓 so (expletive) proud."
The Proud Boys trial has lasted significantly longer than the judge and attorneys expected when jury selection began in December. The proceedings have been . Defense lawyers have routinely sparred with U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly during breaks in testimony and repeatedly asked for him to declare a mistrial.
Two onetime Proud Boys members, Matthew Greene and Jeremy Bertino, were among the key witnesses for prosecutors.
in January that Proud Boys members were expecting a 鈥渃ivil war鈥� after the 2020 election. last month that the Proud Boys saw themselves as 鈥渢he tip of the spear" and plotted to keep Biden out of the White House because they wanted to from what they feared would be a tyrannical government.
Greene and Bertino said they didn't know of any specific plan to storm the Capitol. Greene said group leaders celebrated the attack on Jan. 6 but didn鈥檛 explicitly encourage members to use force.
鈥淢y expectation was, if there was violence started, you should not back down,鈥� Greene testified.
Bertino, of North Carolina, is the only Proud Boys member who has pleaded guilty to a seditious conspiracy charge. Greene, of Syracuse, New York, pleaded guilty to conspiring to obstruct the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress certifying the Electoral College vote.
