A judge is poised to decide how much they should have to pay a historic Black church in Washington for Proud Boys destroying a Black Lives Matter sign during a weekend of pro-Trump rallies in December 2020 that erupted into violence. Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church is seeking up to $22 million in punitive damages, saying it was part of an effort to intimidate those who fight for racial justice.
On trial with Tarrio are Proud Boys chapter leaders Ethan Nordean, of Auburn, Washington; and Zachary Rehl, of Philadelphia; self-described Proud Boys organizer Joseph Biggs, of Ormond Beach, Florida; and Dominic Pezzola, a Proud Boys member from Rochester, New York. “If Biden steals this election, will be political prisoners,” Tarrio posted in Nov. 16, 2020. “We won’t go quietly ... I promise.”When a Proud Boys member asked, “Are we a militia yet?” Tarrio responded with one word — “Yep” — in a voice note.Defense attorneys have argued that there is no evidence of a plan for the Proud Boys to attack the Capitol on Jan. 6.
In the end, prosecutors managed to secure seditious conspiracy convictions at trials against Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and five other members, but three others were acquitted of the charge. Those others, however, were convicted of other serious felonies. Sentencings for Rhodes and other Oath Keepers are scheduled for next month.
The prosecutors in the Proud Boys case have instead argued that Tarrio and the others handpicked and mobilized a loyal group of foot soldiers — or “tools” — to supply the force necessary to carry out their plot. “These men did not stand back. They did not stand by. Instead, they mobilized,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason McCullough told jurors.
Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: ABC - 🏆 471. / 51 Read more »