Federal prosecutors have revealed that a witness for the defense at the seditious conspiracy trial of former Proud Boys national leader Enrique Tarrio, was secretly acting as a government informant.
Carmen Hernandez, a lawyer for former Proud Boys chapter leader Zachary Rehl, asked a judge to schedule an immediate emergency hearing and suspend the trial "until these issues have been considered and resolved," the Associated Press reported.
Hernandez said the defense team was told by prosecutors on Wednesday afternoon that the witness they were planning to call to the stand on Thursday had been a government informant since 2021, according to the AP.
"During this period of time, the [informant] has been in contact via telephone, text messaging and other electronic means, with one or more of the counsel for the defense and at least one defendant," Hernandez said in a motion, per Politico. The informant also reportedly attended "prayer meetings" with at least one of the defendants' families and discussed the defense team.
The judge ordered prosecutors to file a response to the defense filing by Thursday afternoon and scheduled a hearing, putting testimony in the case on hold until Friday.
While the informant wasn't named, last week an FBI agent testified that she was aware of two informants in the Proud Boys, including one who marched on the Capital on Jan. 6, according to the AP.
The indictments against Tarrio, Rehl and three others stem from actions taken during the violence at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, when an angry mob stormed the building as Congress was certifying the 2020 election results, as well as what allegedly happened in the planning stages of that uprising.
Tarrio, Rehl and the others -- including Washington chapter president Ethan Nordean, Florida chapter president Joseph Biggs, and New York member Dominic Pezzola -- are accused of organizing and leading the violence at the Capitol. They faces charges including seditious conspiracy, which by itself carries a 20-year prison sentence.
Defense attorneys say federal prosecutors are simply trying to scapegoat the five men by stitching together texts and message board comments. They say there was no advance planning and no evidence of any messages before Jan. 6 about storming the Capitol, trying to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's electoral victory, or plotting any crime or violence. Instead, the defense pins the blame on former President Donald Trump for riling up the crowd at his Jan. 6 rally.
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