Opening statements are underway in the trial of longtime Proud Boys Chairman Henry “Enrique” Tarrio and four other associates of the right-wing group charged with seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
For over an hour, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason McCullough showed jurors violent video and profane audio of the defendants, saying the evidence is overwhelming that they planned to keep President Donald Trump in power by force. Two years after the attack, the trial is one of the most high profile of the sprawling investigation into the day’s events.
“You will see the private communications, you will see the public statements, you will see their coordinated actions, you will see the celebration of the group’s activities, they will attempt to cover their tracks,” McCullough said. “You will know by the way they took direct aim at the certification of the election results, this is the direct result of their actions.” Invoking Trump’s infamous words at a 2020 presidential debate, McCullough said, “They did not stand back, they did not stand by.”
Read More: Proud Boys trial: U.S. says defendants didn’t ‘stand back’ on Jan. 6
