Judge allows Jan. 6 conspiracy case against Proud Boys leaders to move forward

A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a motion to dismiss charges against four Proud Boys who allegedly took part in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, stating that the case against them was clear and had precedent.

Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Charles Donohoe were arrested earlier this year on charges including conspiracy, obstructing an official proceeding, destruction of government property and entering restricted grounds.

The Proud Boys members had moved to dismiss the first superseding indictment against them, which alleges that they helped to plan and orchestrate the events of Jan. 6.

According to court documents, Nordean and Rehl began raising funds through a crowdfunding campaign in December of last year, saying the money was for things including “communications” and “[p]rotective gear.” They travelled to Washington, D.C., shortly before Jan. 6, along with many other Proud Boys members.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly wrote that the First Amendment argument presented by the defense was blatantly incorrect and disagreed with the majority of their interpretations of the law.

In the defense’s motion, they argued that the charges relating to obstructing an official proceeding, obstruction of law enforcement and entering restricted grounds should be dismissed on the basis that they do not apply to their actions and that even if they did apply, it would be unconstitutional to charge them.

They argued that Congress certifying the 2020 presidential election did not count as an “official proceeding,” but Kelly pointed to U.S. legal code that defined an official proceeding as one “before the Congress.” 

The judge acknowledged that while not everything in the Capitol can automatically be considered an official proceeding, “Congress’s certification makes the grade.”

He also shot down the argument that the law regarding obstruction of law enforcement was “vague,” writing that the it “does not carry the potential for misunderstanding or arbitrary enforcement.”

According to prosecutors, the four defendants were part of the crowd of people who overran the barricades surrounding the Capitol. After the building had been cleared of rioters, Nordean, Biggs, Rehl and Donohoe allegedly celebrated what they had done.

Nordean, who is the president of a local Proud Boys chapter, allegedly wrote on social media, “…if you feel bad for the police, you are part of the problem,” while Rehl wrote that he was “proud as f— what we accomplished yesterday.” Donohoe had apparently written multiple times that his group had “stormed the capitol unarmed.”