Zachary Rehl, president of the Philadelphia chapter of the Proud Boys, became the first member of the far-right group to testify in defense of seditious conspiracy charges for his involvement in the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.
Under questioning by his attorney, Carmen Hernandez, in a federal courtroom in Washington, D.C., Rehl told Judge Timothy Kelly and jurors that there was no reason why he joined the group.
He told the court that many members of the Proud Boys had formerly served in the United States military and that the militia served as a fraternity of boys who took care of each other. “We are going to protest, make our voices heard. We are going to party all night,” he testified about the social atmosphere in the militia.
But Rehl, during several days of testimony ending Tuesday, denied the government’s central allegation against him and four other members of the Proud Boys: that he helped organize the violence in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.
“It never occurred to me to attack the Capitol,” testified Rehl, who acknowledged using the nickname “Captain Trump” on social media. Nor has he ever heard co-defendants Ethan Nordean and Joseph Biggs talk about a possible attack on the US Capitol, he said.
Rehl, 37, insisted he was acting patriotically as he marched from the Washington Monument to the Capitol with other Proud Boys. But he also told the court that he now accepts that “what ultimately unfolded, all the violence, was an embarrassment … and I think it didn’t do any good in the end.”
“I’ve been to a lot of protests,” he testified. “I thought it was a demonstration. That’s why I went there. When I left, that’s what it was.”
He said that once Congress ratified Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump in the 2020 election, it accepted Biden as Trump’s legitimate successor. “I wanted the legal process to be played out,” he told the court.
However, during a lengthy cross-examination, federal prosecutor Erik Kenerson produced text messages and other evidence that raised important questions about Rehl’s real loyalties and feelings about what happened on January 6.
A Jan. 4 chat — quoted by Kenerson and distributed to Rehl and other Proud Boys by group leaders and insiders calling themselves the Ministry of Self-Defense — was headlined “ACAB,” short for “All Cops Are Bastards,” a Rehl translation. did not challenge.
Kenerson also presented a text message Rehl sent to his mother on the afternoon of January 6 at 2:48 p.m. that read: “They just busted down all the doors and windows and the people are pouring in… the capital caused a series of reactions throughout the country I’m so proud”
In response to that post, Rehl said he was “proud of the turnout” and that “our incursion” was a reference “to the large group of people who showed up.”
Text messages Rehl sent to a group of fellow Philadelphia Proud Boys on January 7 — the day after the U.S. Capitol riot — were also introduced by prosecutors.
“We should have kept the capital. After Trump conceded today, it all seemed like a waste,” Rehl wrote in one of them to fellow Philadelphia Proud Boys.
In another Jan. 7 group post, he wrote, “The reason why it feels like a sin is because instead of all these politicians getting scared and realizing they have to answer for this fraud, they all turn on Trump and cuck. They double their actions. Everyone should have turned up armed and taken back the country properly…And f*** you feds, yes I am angry.”
The jury was also presented with a January 8 notice written by Rehl. “They deserve to be tarred and feathered. These cops who turn against us are also what they call ‘defectors.’ I’m just saying it,” it read.
On the witness stand, Rehl told the prosecutor that this was “shoulda, coulda, woulda” talk, a characterization he repeated several times, and that in practice he was determined to pursue politics “the legal way.” .
Under questioning, Rehl confirmed to the jury that he had entered the Capitol, smoked a cigarette in an office, and observed other protesters smoking marijuana in the building. Prosecutors do not allege he engaged in vandalism or violence.
During cross-examination, the prosecution also showed the jurors photographs of the protest crowd on the steps of the Capitol for some time, with one demonstrator apparently aiming some sort of wide shot. liquid spray at the police station. Kenerson directly asked Rehl if he was the person spraying the officers, and Rehl objected, saying he wasn’t sure.
“I don’t agree with what happened that day. I didn’t want to associate myself with that,” Rehl insisted again, citing his lawyer. But he also acknowledged that “it didn’t look too bad at the time”. .”
“At the time, I didn’t think I had done anything wrong,” Rehl continued, adding that he now absolutely regrets entering the building. “My sincere apologies… I literally went there to protest. I thought this was going to be another protest and after I left I thought that was all.”
Dominic Pezzola, a former U.S. marine and flooring contractor from Rochester, NY, who is also charged in the case, took the stand late Tuesday in his defense.
In his initial remarks, Pezzola stressed that there was “no conspiracy” and that “there never was one” regarding the attack on the Capitol. He said he testified that he “took responsibility” because he was “caught up in all the craziness. He acknowledged grabbing a police officer’s shield during the riot, but added that he fell backwards and ‘let go’. Someone else grabbed the police officer’s shield, Pezzola testified, and later took it from them.
Pezzola, who was photographed smashing windows with a shield, admitted to breaking “one pane of glass” in the Capitol, but insisted the damage was less than $1,000. He said he returned the shield to the Capitol police and only stayed in the building for 23 minutes.
He said he believed the Proud Boys’ purpose was to protect Trump supporters, including old people.
The trial of all five current Proud Boy defendants — which also includes the group’s alleged leader, Enrique Tarrio, as well as Nordean, a former protein powder salesman, and Biggs, a former U.S. Army sergeant — is expected to go to jury next week , although the procedure was regularly disrupted by unexpected delays.
