VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – The former Florida leader of the Proud Boys, alongside other leaders of the far-right group, is charged with a seditious conspiracy charge in the Capitol Riot as of Monday, court documents show.
A federal jury indicted Joseph Biggs, of Ormond Beach, and four other Proud Boys members with seditious conspiracy and conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties, two of the biggest charges to come out of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol Riot investigation, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
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Former national Proud Boys leader Enrique “Henry” Tarrio, 38, of Miami, Florida; Ethan Nordean, 31, of Auburn, Washington; Zachary Rehl, 37, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Dominic Pezzola, 44, of Rochester, New York, also face the same charges.
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According to new court documents, federal prosecutors said Biggs called for a “revolution” and Tarrio called for “war” and planned to interrupt President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory during the coordinated attack on the U.S. Capitol.
All five men were previously charged with different conspiracy counts, but the latest riot-related indictments are among the most serious filed so far.
According to the indictment, Biggs also took a video in which he surveyed the crowd and stated, “We’ve taken the Capitol.”
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They join 11 other members or associates of the anti-government Oath Keepers militia group, including its founder and leader Stewart Rhodes, who were indicted in January on seditious conspiracy charges in the Capitol attack.
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Florida leads the nation with the number of residents arrested in connection with the Capitol Hill riots, according to data provided earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The government said that more than 800 arrests have been made so far in connection to the events at the Capitol building.
The indictment comes just days before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol is set to go public with its findings in a primetime hearing on June 9.
The Associated Press also contributed to this report.