The Department of Justice agreed to delay the trial of several Proud Boys until later this year after they claimed the House select committee's hearings would interfere with their right to a free trial.
Attorneys for Proud Boys members Joseph Biggs, Enrique Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Zach Rehl and Dominic Pezzola had asked to delay their trial for seditious conspiracy to be delayed until December, and the Justice Department also asked a judge to reschedule the start date, reported Politico correspondent Kyle Cheney.
\u201cNEWS: DOJ agrees to delay Proud Boys trial until December, citing potential prejudice caused by timing of Jan. 6 select committee hearings. Unclear if Judge Kelly will go along.\u201d— Kyle Cheney (@Kyle Cheney) 1655402637
The Justice Department agreed the defendants and their attorneys needed time to review witness transcripts from the select committee's hearings, which will last until next week, and DOJ lawyers said they didn't expect them to be released in full until September -- after the trial is currently scheduled to begin.
DOJ lawyers also restated their opposition to allow the Proud Boys to be tried separately for seditious conspiracy.
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"Interviews that the Select Committee conducted are not just potentially relevant to our overall criminal investigations, but are likely relevant to specific prosecutions," the Justice Department said.
