Ex-Prosecutors: Proud Boy Guilty Verdicts Make It More Likely Trump Will Be Charged For Jan. 6

The convictions of four members of the domestic terrorist group the Proud Boys in federal court today on charges of seditious conspiracy is a major blow to a group that played a significant role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

But it’s also bad news for failed one-term, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump according to two legal experts, and it likely means that Special Counsel Jack Smith will be including charges against the ex-president for his role in Jan. 6.

Former federal prosecutor Elie Honig said Thursday on CNN, “First of all, these verdicts are a statement; they are proof of concept. Now for the third time we see that the DOJ is fully capable of charging seditious conspiracy and getting convictions.”

Honig added that the model prosecutors used against the Proud Boys could also be used against Trump.

“Also if you look at the way they didn’t have one smoking gun. Instead what they did, was they put together all the evidence, testimony, and documents showing that there was talk of revolution insurrection and that they had a plan to go to the Capitol and stay in coordination,” he noted. “So you can see how that model could be used against Donald Trump and others.”

Another federal prosecutor, Dennis Aftergut, echoed Honig in an op-ed he wrote for MSNBC.

The convictions add to the former president’s legal woes. Recall the first presidential debate in 2020, when Trump famously told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by.” The effect of that callout to the militants became visible to the nation on Jan. 6, and again to the jury here. At trial, the government introduced a message from one Proud Boy who wrote right after the debate that “Donald has given us a command.” Prosecutors also introduced the group’s messages suggesting that some coordination with the White House may have occurred before Jan. 6.

And that’s bad news for Donald., Aftergut concludes:

With these latest foot soldiers’ convictions, the baton now passes to special counsel Jack Smith and to Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis to complete the task by bringing accountability to the very top. History has been made. There is more to come.

Or, to use Trump’s own words, Stand back and stand by.