AP

Jury selection for Proud Boys trial to resume next month

Dec 22, 2022, 9:39 PM | Updated: Dec 23, 2022, 11:52 am

FILE - Proud Boys leader Henry "Enrique" Tarrio wears a hat that says The War Boys during a rally i...

FILE - Proud Boys leader Henry "Enrique" Tarrio wears a hat that says The War Boys during a rally in Portland, Ore., on Sept. 26, 2020. Jury selection for the seditious conspiracy trial of former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four lieutenants will resume in early January after a holiday break, according to court records. (AP Photo/Allison Dinner, File)

(AP Photo/Allison Dinner, File)


              FILE - Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio attends a rally in Portland, Ore., Aug. 17, 2019. Jury selection for the seditious conspiracy trial of former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four lieutenants will resume in early January after a holiday break. The judge presiding over the case against the far-right extremist group members questioned prospective jurors for a fifth day on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)
            
              FILE - Proud Boys leader Henry "Enrique" Tarrio wears a hat that says The War Boys during a rally in Portland, Ore., on Sept. 26, 2020. Jury selection for the seditious conspiracy trial of former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four lieutenants will resume in early January after a holiday break, according to court records. (AP Photo/Allison Dinner, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jury selection for the seditious conspiracy trial of former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four lieutenants will resume in early January after a holiday break, according to court records.

The judge presiding over the case against the far-right extremist group members questioned prospective jurors for a fifth day on Friday. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly has been asking them about their opinions of the Proud Boys and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Jury selection is scheduled to resume on Jan. 3.

Tarrio and the four other Proud Boys members are charged with conspiring to stop the peaceful transfer of presidential power by storming the Capitol on Jan. 6 and trying to block Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory.

Before jury selection started on Monday, Kelly denied a request by defense attorneys to postpone the start of the trial until the new year. The defense lawyers expressed concern that the jury pool could be tainted by news coverage of a House committee’s decision on Monday to urge the Justice Department to bring criminal charges against former President Donald Trump.

The trial for the Proud Boys is expected to last at least six weeks. Opening statements will begin more than a month after a jury convicted two leaders of another extremist group, the Oath Keepers, of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors said was a separate plot to stop the transfer of presidential power from Trump to Biden.

Tarrio, of Miami, was the national chairman of the Proud Boys on Jan. 6. He wasn’t in Washington that day, but prosecutors claim he kept command over the Proud Boys who attacked the Capitol and cheered them on from afar.

Tarrio and the others on trial — Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl, Dominic Pezzola and Joseph Biggs — are charged with other riot-related crimes besides seditious conspiracy. The sedition charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

___

Follow AP’s coverage of the Capitol riot at: https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

23 hours ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

23 hours ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

23 hours ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

4 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

6 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

6 days ago

Jury selection for Proud Boys trial to resume next month