Lawyer for Proud Boys leader says Trump ‘unleashed’ Capitol mob

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The lawyer for Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio blamed former President Donald Trump for the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
• Attorney Sabino Jauregui said that it was Trump who “unleashed this mob on the Capitol.”
• He said that his client has been made a “scapegoat” just because he “happens to be the leader of the Proud Boys.”

Sabino Jauregui, a lawyer for Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, pinned the Jan. 6 Capitol attack on former President Donald Trump during Thursday’s trial.

Jauregui declared during his opening statement, “Trump told these people that the election was stolen. Trump told them to go there on January 6. And it was Trump, with his speech on January 6, that unleashed this mob on the Capitol.”

Tarrio has been charged with seditious conspiracy over accusations that he led Proud Boys members in storming the Capitol to stop the certification of then-President-elect Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. He is currently on trial with other members Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola. The four members have pleaded not guilty. 

Federal prosecutors accused Tarrio of instructing the group to gather and block the transfer of power from Trump to Biden, citing messages from Tarrio before and on Jan. 6.

Prosecutors read out messages sent at 2:40 p.m. after rioters stormed the Capitol: “Make no mistake…” and “We did this.”

Tarrio’s lawyer accused the government of cherry-picking evidence, arguing, “You will never see a message from Enrique Tarrio advocating to storm the Capitol. It’s not gonna happen.”

Jauregui cited Trump’s rally on the morning of Jan. 6, during which he told his supporters to “fight like hell.” The now-dissolved House panel has cited that phrase to accuse the former president, who’s denied any responsibility over the riot, of inciting an insurrection.

Jauregui told jurors in the Washington, DC, federal district court, “Enrique didn’t say that. Enrique didn’t say anything to anybody on the grounds of the Capitol on January 6.” He said that his client has been made a “scapegoat” just because he “happens to be the leader of the Proud Boys.”

He argued that Tarrio was not even on the ground that day, having been arrested two days prior for an unrelated incident involving the burning of a “Black Lives Matter” flag.

The Proud Boys, a group that calls itself “Western-chauvinist,” was founded in 2016 but gained national attention in 2020. During a presidential debate, Trump was asked to condemn white supremacists, but he told them to “stand back and stand by.”

Jauregui defended the group during his opening statements, arguing that they “are not a racist, sexist, homophobic organization” and are basically “a drinking club.” He said, “Chauvinist simply means that they think their side is the best. The Proud Boys think that America is the best.”

The trial could last over a month.

Source: Insider