WASHINGTON – The day before the Capitol uprising on January 6, members of the Proud Boys exchanged a series of planning messages on encrypted message channels, including one that warned that “police are the main threat,” according to documents newly opened prosecution offices.
The Justice Department released a new indictment on Friday against four Proud Boys leaders accused of conspiring to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 elections, as well as interfering with police efforts to protect the Capitol. The indictment, which was returned by a sealed grand jury on March 10, presents a series of new allegations about what members of the far-right group of men were doing in the days and hours before a crowd of hundreds – most of them supporters of former President Donald Trump – went down to the Capitol.
Prosecutors said an unidentified person created a new encrypted message channel on January 5 called “Boots on the Ground” for members of the Proud Boys to use while in Washington. More than 60 people participated in the channel, according to the prosecution, including the four Proud Boys leaders accused in the latest conspiracy case: Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Charles Donohoe.
Later, Biggs reportedly sent a series of messages to the group about plans for January 6, including: “We are trying to avoid getting into any shit tonight. Tomorrow is the day. “
The prosecution cites messages allegedly sent by an unidentified person, described by the government as an “uncharged co-conspirator”. That person sent a message on January 5 saying that Nordean, who goes by the nickname Rufio Panman, was “in charge”. That person also sent messages to members about not wearing “colors” of identification – the Proud Boys identified themselves in previous demonstrations wearing black and yellow – and telling them to “be decentralized and use common sense until further notice”.
“Rufio is in charge, the police are the main threat, don’t get caught by them or BLM, don’t get drunk until you leave the street”, the unidentified person sent a message to the “Boots on the Ground” channel and another encrypted channel, along with a radio frequency number, according to the prosecution. “BLM” is an apparent reference to the Black Lives Matter movement; no one associated with the Black Lives Matter was charged in connection with the riot, and the lawsuits did not include evidence that supporters of the movement were involved.
More than 300 people have been accused of participating in the insurrection so far, and the government has said it expects to file lawsuits against at least 100 more. The US attorney’s office has accused a handful of conspiracy cases involving members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers , a collective militia that focuses its recruitment efforts on current and former military and police members. In recent lawsuits, prosecutors said they continue to investigate “conspiracy activities” that led to January 6.
Prosecutors allege in the latest charge that the Proud Boys conspiracy included encouraging members to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally with Trump on January 6; raise money online to finance equipment and travel to DC; bringing “paramilitary equipment and supplies”; “Conspiring” to avoid detection by not using the colors of the Proud Boys; using portable radios and encrypted applications to “communicate and coordinate” the attack on the Capitol; and pushing law enforcement and entering the Capitol.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protection Service was monitoring the activities of the Proud Boys before January 6, and authorities sent updates on the group’s presence on Capitol Hill on the day of the attack, BuzzFeed News reported earlier. Democratic MP Bennie Thompson filed a civil rights suit seeking to hold the Proud Boys responsible for the riot, along with the Oath Keepers, Trump and Trump’s longtime lawyer and ally Rudy Giuliani.
The messages that prosecutors cited in the latest indictment in the 48-hour period before the riot did not include details of what exactly the Proud Boys leaders planned for January 6. The government linked its presence in Washington that day with messages that members allegedly posted online after the November election accusing Democrats of electoral fraud and calling for “war” and “firing squads”.
“We tried to play well and according to the rules, now you are going to deal with the monster you created,” Nordean reportedly posted online on November 27, according to billing documents. “The spirit of 1776 resurfaced and created groups like the Proudboys and we will not be extinguished. We will grow as the flame that feeds us and spread as the love that guides us. We are unstoppable, relentless and now … relentless. Good luck to all of you, traitors of this country that we love deeply … you will need it. “
On January 4, Proud Boys President Enrique Tarrio was arrested in Washington, DC, and accused of burning a “Black Lives Matter” banner during the December protests. Donohoe, the president of a local chapter of the Proud Boys in North Carolina, reportedly expressed concern about the group’s compromised internal communications and took steps to delete a previous channel they used, according to the prosecution.
“Hey, they were instructed and listen to me very well! There is no planning whatsoever. I need to be placed in anything new that is created. Everything is compromised and we may be looking at the gang’s accusations, ”Donohoe reportedly posted on various channels, along with“ Stop everything immediately ”and“ This comes from the top ”
On the night of January 4, the unidentified and unclaimed co-conspirator sent a message on a new encrypted channel that Donohoe allegedly created about “dividing the guys into teams” and choosing radio communication channels.
Donohoe, whose lawyer did not immediately return a request for comment, was arrested on March 17 and will remain in prison pending a pre-trial detention hearing scheduled for March 24 in the federal court in North Carolina.
Nordean, described by the government as an “elder” of the Proud Boys and president of his local chapter in Washington State, and Biggs, an organizer of the Proud Boys who lives in Florida, had previously been charged and arrested separately for their alleged involvement in the Capitol riot. Nordean earlier this week filed a motion challenging the government’s claim that he helped and encouraged the destruction of property on Capitol Hill, including breaking a window, by leading other protesters. Nordean’s lawyers argued that the government should be forced to make specific claims about its role in destroying property that day, known as a “private list”.
Nordean and Biggs’ lawyers declined to comment on the new charge. The judges agreed to allow the two men to return home while their lawsuits are pending; the government argued unsuccessfully to keep Nordean in prison.
The fourth defendant, Zachary Rehl, is president of the Proud Boys section in Philadelphia, according to court records. The government claimed in the indictment that, after January 6, he and his co-defendants sent messages and posted on social media platforms celebrating the insurrection.
“I am very proud of what we achieved yesterday, but we need to start planning and we are starting to plan for a Biden presidency,” Rehl reportedly wrote.
Rehl made his first appearance in the federal court in Philadelphia on Friday and a judge scheduled a detention hearing for March 23, according the Philadelphia Inquirer.