But prosecutors have yet to publicly link all points between group members, leaving Democrats in Congress to fill those gaps on Wednesday as they filed their impeachment lawsuit against former President Donald Trump.
House managers analyzed the court’s voluminous record to highlight the most militant members of the pro-Trump crowd that attacked the Capitol last month. And the Democrats have turned an alleged member of the Proud Boys, Dominic Pezzola, into his poster boy for violence, sternly telling senators-jurors that he “came to the Capitol on January 6 with deadly intentions”.
While prosecutors are gradually and slowly unfolding their cases in court, Casa Democrata administrators seek maximum immediate impact, presenting their case on TV and in front of one of the most partisan juries imaginable.
House managers mentioned the Proud Boys more than a dozen times on Wednesday, mainly during their methodical minute-by-minute analysis of how the Capitol was violated.
“As we look at this evidence, I want you to keep President Trump’s words in mind when asked to condemn the violence: ‘Back off and wait,'” said Del. Stacey Plaskett of the United States Virgin Islands. “And see example after example of types of people like the Proud Boys, which he was expecting on January 6.”
Democrats showed images of Pezzola using a police shield to break one of the Capitol windows. In addition to the images widely shared on social media, City Council managers showed some unprecedented angles of this incident by surveillance cameras inside the Capitol, showing how dozens of protesters flooded the corridors after Pezzola broke the window.
What prosecutors are saying in court at the moment
The lawsuits have not tied the group closely to Trump’s inner circle so far and have not outlined a broader effort by the entire group to attack the Capitol.
So far, in court, prosecutors have been chasing men associated with the Proud Boys, one by one, or occasionally in pairs. A larger case of conspiracy or charges of sedition had not yet materialized on Wednesday night, although prosecutors have indicated that they are considering pursuing these types of cases against extremist right-wing groups that participated in the January 6 attack.
In two cases last week, prosecutors described how the Proud Boys could be “fomenting rebellion” if senior members could be released from prison while facing their riot-related charges.
In one case, against Seattle Proud Boys leader Ethan Nordean, prosecutors described in court documents how the group could meet again for attacks.
“There is no reason to believe that the Defendant, or any of his Proud Boy associates, is more interested in ‘complacency’, or less interested in fomenting rebellion, than they were on January 5. If nothing else, the January events 6 of 2021, exposed the size and determination of the peripheral right-wing groups in the United States and their willingness to put themselves and others at risk to promote their political ideology.Release the Defendant to join his flock and plan his next attack poses a potentially catastrophic risk of danger to the community, “Justice Department prosecutors wrote to a federal judge in Seattle late Friday night, in their strongest language yet about the group.
On Wednesday, prosecutors argued that Pezzola could also reconnect with his group, “fomenting rebellion”, although the Justice Department was careful not to refer to the group more explicitly in Pezzola’s proceedings.
Prosecutor Erik Kenerson described how Pezzola “was not a lone actor” who came to DC – and instead, may have planned and coordinated with others, even meeting with contacts on the morning of the pro-Trump rally.
Pezzola pleaded not guilty and remains in detention. His lawyer on Wednesday tried to distance him from the Proud Boys, saying he had no history with the group.
Also in recent days, a grand federal jury has indicted two men on charges of conspiring to obstruct the counting of the Congressional Electoral College – Nicholas Ochs, who heads the group’s chapter in Hawaii, and his associate Nicholas DeCarlo.
In court cases in the Ochs, DeCarlo and Nordean cases, prosecutors alleged that the men sought funding while planning their trip to Washington on January 6, with Nordean even asking for help on social media to buy “protective equipment” and “communication equipment. . “
Ochs and DeCarlo were indicted on several charges last week, including conspiracy. They have yet to appear in court to formally respond to the charges. Nordean has not yet been indicted, but is in custody pending the trial.
CNN’s Kay Jones and Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this report.