The Daily Fuckup

WASHINGTON — The Proud Boys sedition trial that opened Thursday in federal court put the Jan. 6 attack back in the spotlight, with prosecutors telling jurors the defendants helped build and carry out a plan to resist the transfer of power after the 2020 election.

The Justice Department’s case is that Enrique Tarrio and other Proud Boys leaders coordinated before Jan. 6 and then used force around the Capitol breach to try to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory. That is the government’s allegation, not a finding by the jury. Defense lawyers have said the men were engaged in political activity and deny that they joined a conspiracy to block the electoral count.

The indictment lays out the charges against Tarrio and his co-defendants and says the group conspired to obstruct the certification of the presidential vote. Prosecutors have tied the case to the broader effort to overturn the election, arguing the defendants did not simply drift into the mob but acted with a purpose.

Trump is not on trial in the case. Still, his election-fraud claims and his push to keep supporters focused on the 2020 result remain part of the factual background prosecutors are asking jurors to weigh. The case adds another official record to the federal government’s effort to show how the Capitol attack fit into the pressure campaign against the election results.