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This is Fresh Air. I'm Terry Gross, seditious conspiracy for plotting to keep Donald Trump

in power after he lost the 2020 election by leading a violent mob in attacking the capital.

That's what four members of the far right extremist group, the Proud Boys, including

its leader Enrique Tario were convicted of last week. A fifth member was convicted on lesser charges.

Six members of the far right militia group, the oath keepers, including its leader's

duet roads were convicted of similar sedition charges in earlier trials. What does that mean

for ongoing investigations into January 6th and attempts to overturn the 2020 election?

My Donald Trump and or members of his inner circle face similar charges? My guest Alan

Feuer has been covering these stories for the New York Times. He's also covering special counsel

Jack Smith's investigations into Trump and his allies. Feuer reports on extremism and political

violence for the New York Times. We recorded our interview yesterday morning.

Alan Feuer, welcome back to Fresh Air. So tell us on what grounds were the Proud Boys convicted

of seditious conspiracy? In short, they were found guilty of having used violent

force to stop the lawful transfer of presidential power at the Capitol on January 6th.

And essentially, seditious conspiracy is a charge that requires prosecutors to prove that the

defendants used physical violence to either oppose the authority of the US government or oppose

certain federal laws. In this case, the ones that govern how we hand off power from one

president to the next. And the Proud Boys, the jury found, were front and center in helping lead

the violent mob on January 6th, 2021 that broke into the Capitol and disrupted this certification

process of the election that was taking place inside it during a joint session of Congress.

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