
The members of the Proud Boys currently charged with seditious conspiracy intend to subpoena Donald Trump to testify in their ongoing trial.
The Proud Boys say Trump bears some responsibility for the events that unfolded on January 6 because he publicly told them to “stand by” as well as sending that now-infamous tweet calling supporters to D.C.
".. the Proud Boys may have the clearest [subpoena] case, given Trump’s explicit reference to the group during the debate and the group’s centrality to the riot that unfolded on Jan. 6."@politico #J6 https://t.co/p8fEDsbBAH
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) February 16, 2023
From Politico:
Prosecutors have underscored the group’s repeated responses to Trump’s public statements — from his Sept. 2020 debate-stage exhortation to the group to “stand back and stand by” to his Dec. 19, 2020 tweet urging supporters to attend his Jan. 6 rally. “Be there. Will be wild,” he wrote.
“Donald trump called on patriots to stop the steal. We’re calling on Donald Trump to take the stand,” said Norm Pattis, attorney for Proud Boy Joe Biggs.
Former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio and four allies are charged with seditious conspiracy, a plot to violently keep Trump in office anchored in part by preventing Congress from certifying the election on Jan. 6, 2021.
While other January 6 defendants have wanted Trump to testify in their cases, the judges in those instances found any defense tied to Trump (and therefore needing his testimony) as more than murky.
The small difference here is the fact that Trump explicitly used the Proud Boys’ name during that presidential debate calling for them to “stand back and stand by.”
Can you imagine the Donald agreeing to testify UNDER OATH in a court of law? Anything he said could be used against in any number of investigations.
Defense attorneys for five Proud Boys leaders intend to call former President Trump to testify as a witness in their clients’ ongoing trial. https://t.co/fLX30sUdjm
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) February 16, 2023
Just in: Lawyers in the Proud Boys Jan. 6 sedition trial have issued a subpoena seeking to force Donald Trump to appear as a witness. Expect a) Troubles with service and b) a motion to quash. pic.twitter.com/av43rXSjhC
— Alan Feuer (@alanfeuer) February 16, 2023