Four members of the far-right organization Proud Boys, including its leader Enrique Tario, who is accused ofattack on the capital On January 6, 2021, they were found guilty of “conspiracy to stop”, a very rare charge in the US.

All of them, along with mobs of supporters of former President Donald Trump, have been accused of wreaking havoc on Capitol Hill in a failed attempt to prevent Congress from ratifying Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential victory.

The trial lasted four months, and the decision is another victory for the Justice Department, which is seeking to prosecute more than 1,000 people in connection with the January 6 events. Several members of another far-right organization, the Oath Keepers, have already been convicted.

In addition to Tario, Ethan Nordin, Joseph Biggs, and Zachary Rell were found guilty of sedition under Civil War law. The charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

However, the court found all five guilty of other offenses, including obstruction of official proceedings (sentence to 20 years), conspiracy to prevent Congress from exercising its duties, and obstructing the implementation of laws during civil unrest. Nordin, Biggs, Rell and Tario were acquitted of assault or obstruction of police charges, while Petzola was convicted.

More than 500 people have pleaded guilty to charges related to the Capitol riots, and about 80 people have been convicted in court. Among them are Oath Keepers founder Stuart Rhodes and many members of his organization.

The Proud Boys’ trial was the longest to date. Since January, 12 jurors in a federal court in Washington have heard witness statements for 50 days.

In his closing remarks, Attorney Conor Mulroy told jurors that the Proud Boys see themselves as a “fighting force” ready to “commit atrocities” on Trump’s behalf to fix his electoral defeat. The organization called itself a “Western chauvinist group”.

Prosecutors also said that Tario and other defendants, some of whom were heads of the organization’s state offices, purchased military equipment and urged its members to go to Washington. Of the five defendants, all but Tario entered the Capitol during the attack. Tario was not in Washington that day, but prosecutors say he directed the attack from Baltimore. He did not travel to the federal capital as he was banned by a judge after he was arrested Jan. 4 for burning a Black Lives Matter banner at a church.