Proud Boys looking to subpoena Trump to testify at trial
In a long-shot move, lawyers for five members of the Proud Boys facing sedition charges in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol are seeking to issue a subpoena demanding that former President Donald Trump appear as a witness at their trial.
The lawyers are hoping to elicit testimony from Trump that could convince the jury that he, rather than their clients, instigated the crowd that eventually rioted. Prosecutors have built their case against the five Proud Boys members — Enrique Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl, Dominic Pezzola and Joseph Biggs — by arguing that they induced dozens of members of the far-right group and others in the mob that day into taking action against a joint session of Congress where lawmakers were certifying the results of the 2020 election.
It remains unclear whether Judge Timothy Kelly, who is overseeing the case, will allow the subpoena.
If it’s permitted, Trump is almost certain to try to quash it and avoid being placed under oath on the witness stand and questioned about his role on Jan. 6.
His spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
Other Jan. 6 defendants have considered issuing trial subpoenas for Trump’s testimony, but none have actually gone forward with the plan. Last year, Dustin Thompson, an exterminator from Ohio, sought permission from the judge in his case to subpoena the former president and several of his allies to testify as witnesses at his trial. That effort, however, was cut short by the judge in Thompson’s case before a subpoena was sent out.
After testifying in his own defense that he was merely following Trump’s orders while storming the Capitol, Thompson was convicted of all six charges he faced and sentenced to three years in prison.
The trial has already been bogged down several times in arcane disputes between the defense and the prosecution over the sorts of evidence that can be shown to the jury — including hundreds of thousands of encrypted group chats the Proud Boys exchanged on the messaging app Telegram on Jan. 6 and in the months leading up to it.