EDITORIAL: Proud Boys' convictions a victory for Justice Department

May 9—The conviction of the leader of the Proud Boys and three of his lieutenants shows the long and complex investigations by the Justice Department and the House Select Committee successfully proved the Jan. 6 takeover of the U.S. Capitol was indeed a violent attempt to overthrow the government.

Last week prosecutors won a conviction on the most serious charge of seditious conspiracy levied over the 2021 insurrection.

In closing arguments, a Justice Department attorney told jurors, "These defendants saw themselves as Donald Trump's army, fighting to keep their preferred leader in power no matter what the law or the courts had to say about it."

The convictions demonstrate the Proud Boys did in fact see themselves as former President Donald Trump's personal army. Trump did all he could to encourage the violent group, including whipping them up at a rally at the Capitol on Jan. 6 prior to the violent assault on the Capitol.

At a debate with Joe Biden during the presidential campaign Trump was asked to condemn "white supremacists and militia groups," including the Proud Boys. Far from condemning them, Trump said "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by."

The success in court also shows the Justice Department has been doing its job well. Prosecutors have spent the time investigating and building complex cases against 1,000 people for their role in the attack intended to halt the certification of the 2020 election results.

Since its formation in 2016 the Proud Boys became the muscle for the far-right, fighting protesters and espousing racist, misogynistic and antisemitic views.

The successful verdicts should also bolster investigations by the Justice Department and a special counsel into efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the election. Recently a federal grand jury heard hours of testimony from former Vice President Mike Pence, who has previously spoken about how Trump pressured him to stop the certification of the election results.

The conviction of the Proud Boys leaders was a victory for democracy and shouldn't be the end of the search for the truth about what Trump and his allies did.