Joe Biggs, a Proud Boys leader from Florida and former InfoWars correspondent, has taken a top leadership role in the Proud Boys following the arrest of Proud Boys President Enrique Tarrio on Jan. 4, according to the Department of Justice. Biggs reportedly led the Proud Boys in a march to and around the Capitol building and was present at the initial breach of the Capitol. Biggs faces nine federal charges, including conspiracy to commit sedition, and has pleaded not guilty.
Michael Flynn
Michael Flynn is a retired US Army lieutenant general and served as national security adviser for the first 23 days of the Trump administration. After reports that he had misled the administration about his communications with Russia before Trump took office, Flynn was forced to resign. He was accused of, pleaded guilty to — and then tried to withdraw that plea — lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts. Flynn eventually received a presidential pardon from Trump, ending the three-year legal saga. After the 2020 election, Flynn was heavily involved in the Stop the Steal movement. His outlandish theories about overturning the election eventually reached the White House, most notably during a December 2020 Oval Office meeting where Flynn and attorney Sidney Powell suggested the then-President implement martial law or confiscate voting machines.
Kelly Meggs
Kelly Meggs is a leader of the Florida chapter of the Oath Keepers and is one of several members charged with rioting conspiracy. He has pleaded not guilty. Text messages from around January 6 show that Meggs discussed the possibility of using the Proud Boys as a “force multiplier” on January 6 with other Oath Keepers and that he was in contact with former Trump adviser Roger Stone about providing security during of Stop the Meggs allegedly led the infamous first “stack” of Oath Keepers onto the steps and into the Capitol building on Jan. 6, according to the Justice Department. Once inside, Meggs reportedly looked for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Ethan Nordean
Ethan Nordean, a Proud Boys leader from Washington state, has also taken on a top leadership role in Tarrio’s absence. Nordean, along with Biggs, led a large group of Proud Boys in a march from the Washington Monument to the Capitol. Nordean faces nine federal charges, including conspiracy to commit sedition, and has pleaded not guilty.
Dominic Pezzola
Rochester Proud Boys member Dominic Pezzola is accused of breaking a window with a stolen police officer’s riot shield, causing the first violation of the Capitol building. He was reportedly one of the first rioters inside and was at the front of the group that chased Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman up the stairs. Pezzola faces 10 federal charges, including conspiracy to commit sedition, and has pleaded not guilty.
Sidney Powell
Sidney Powell is a lawyer and former prosecutor who became a legal hero in the Trump world for her defense of Flynn when he faced charges in Robert Mueller’s investigation and later for her failed efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election. After the 2020 election , joined Rudy Giuliani and other Trump lawyers in pressing some of the most outlandish false allegations of election fraud, as she famously promised she was “going to unleash the Kraken” on her legal games. He now faces legal ethics complaints over his handling of Trump’s post-election appeal. Before the 2020 election, he had represented Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, when he tried to withdraw from a plea deal with Mueller for making false statements to the FBI.
Stuart Rhodes
Stewart Rhodes, an Army veteran and Yale Law School graduate, founded Oath Keepers in 2009 and has led the far-right organization since then. Rhodes was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, but did not reportedly enter the building, although phone records show he was reportedly in contact with members who went inside the Capitol and with members organized into an armed “quick reaction force” just outside Washington, DC. Rhodes was also part of a Signal “VIP” conversation with Roger Stone, Ali Alexander, Alex Jones and other key Trump allies, according to people familiar with the Signal messages obtained by prosecutors. Rhodes, along with nine other members of the Oath Keepers, is due to go on trial in September on charges of sedition. He is currently being held at a federal detention center near Washington, DC. Rhodes has pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges stemming from January 6.
Kellye SoRelle
In 2020, Kellye SoRelle volunteered with Lawyers for Trump and helped with some of the Trump campaign’s efforts to challenge the outcome of the presidential election. She is a close ally of Rhodes and was photographed with him outside the Capitol on January 6. He has provided information to both the House Select Committee and the FBI, but has not been charged with a crime.
Roger Stone
Longtime Trump political operative and ally Roger Stone was a big presence until Jan. 6, with connections to both Trump and far-right extremists involved in the Capitol Hill uprising. Stone, who was feted by Trump in July 2020 after being convicted of crimes that included lying to Congress, attended the Stop the Steal rally on Jan. 6 and had a protective detail made up of Oath Keepers, some of whom have been indicted criminally charged with subversive conspiracy. According to former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony to the committee last month, Trump — the night before the Capitol riot — told chief of staff Mark Meadows to ask Stone and Flynn what was going to happen. on January 6. Stone has previously testified before the committee, asserting his Fifth Amendment rights to each question.
Enrique Tario
Proud Boys President Enrique Tarrio was arrested on unrelated charges two days before Jan. 6 and was not in Washington on the day of the attack, but was reportedly in contact with a rally planning group within the Proud Boys called the Ministry of Self-Government Defense, or MOSD. MOSD’s first event, according to prosecutors, was Trump’s Jan. 6 rally in Washington, and Tarrio sent the group a Jan. 4 voicemail acknowledging they wanted to “invade the Capitol.” As the attack unfolded, Tarrio reportedly wrote in an encrypted message, “Make no mistake… We did this.” Tarrio, Biggs, Pezzola and Nordean are among the leaders of the Proud Boys charged with rioting conspiracy. Like the other three, Tarrio has pleaded not guilty. CNN’s Tierney Sneed and Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.
