In connection with the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, the US Department of Justice on Monday expanded the charges against the former leader of the "Proud Boys", Enrique Tarrio, and four other members of the radical right-wing group.

In addition to endangering the state, they are now also accused of the more serious point of seditious conspiracy.

This carries a penalty of up to twenty years imprisonment.

They are said to have tried to use force to oppose the transfer of power to Joe Biden.

Sofia Dreisbach

North American political correspondent based in Washington.

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On January 6 last year, hundreds of supporters of Donald Trump, who had already been voted out of office, stormed the seat of Congress in Washington.

In a speech, Trump called for people to march to the Capitol and fight “whatever the hell”.

The attack killed five people and injured dozens.

Both chambers of Congress had to suspend their sessions, MPs and senators were taken to safety.

After several hours, security forces brought the situation back under control.

Actually, the confirmation of the election victory by Congress, which was scheduled for that day, is only a formality before the official assumption of office.

Coordinated from Baltimore

The 38-year-old Tarrio was not personally involved in the storming of the Capitol.

But he is said to have coordinated the actions from Baltimore when members of the "Proud Boys" acted aggressively against security forces.

With the expanded indictment, new details about the group's actions became known.

Prosecutors allege that the five men intimidated members of Congress and security officials into fleeing their offices so that they could no longer perform their duties.

In text messages released by prosecutors, Tarrio compared the attack on the Capitol to the "Winter Palace," the residence of the Russian Emperor, which was stormed during the 1917 Russian Revolution.

In the news, Tarrio also appears to be commenting on the evacuation of Congress and the suspension of confirmation of the election result.

An unnamed person wrote to him on the day of the Capitol storm: "Dude, did we just influence the story?" Tarrio replied, "Let's see how this plays out." Regarding the earlier allegations, Tarrio and three of the four have confessed Co-defendants not guilty.

The rare seditious conspiracy charge was also brought against Stewart Rhodes, founder and leader of the far-right Oath Keepers, and ten of his followers in connection with the storming of the Capitol in January.

He was also not at the Capitol on January 6, but is said to have helped organize the attack.