This is an extremely rare charge in the United States. Four members of the far-right group Proud Boys, involved in the assault on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, were convicted of "sedition" on Thursday, May 4, according to several US media.

Their former leader, Enrique Tarrio, is among the four convicted.

They were five members of the group to be tried by a court in Washington for having, with a crowd of supporters of Republican President Donald Trump, sown chaos in the seat of Congress, at the time when the elected officials certify the election of his Democratic rival Joe Biden to the White House.

The jury could not agree on the charge of "sedition" for the fifth defendant, but the five were also found guilty of obstructing the work of Congress.

Since the January 6, 2021 attack, more than 950 supporters of former Republican President Donald Trump have been arrested and charged with wreaking havoc in the siege of American democracy.

Defendants face 20 years in prison

After two other trials, concluded in November and January, six members of another far-right militia, the "Oath Keepers", had already been convicted of sedition, a charge punishable by 20 years in prison for planning to use force to oppose the government.

Difficult to prove, it is very rarely used, and the previous conviction in this capacity, before those of November and January, was almost a quarter of a century ago.

The trial of the five members of the Proud Boys began in December in a court in the federal capital.

Former "national president" of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, arrested in Miami in March 2022, was not in Washington on January 6, but was suspected of having directed the attack on the temple of American democracy by members of this neo-fascist organization.

>> Read also: United States: who is Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys?

Four of his cronies were accused of having taken part directly in the assault.

In a video of the event, one of them, Dominic Pezzola, can be seen manipulating a riot shield — stolen from police — and breaking a window of the Capitol.

With AFP

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