GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — A North Carolina man has pleaded guilty to plotting with other members of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group to violently stop the transfer of presidential power after the 2020 election.
Jeremy Joseph Bertino of Gaston County is the first Proud Boys member to plead guilty to a seditious conspiracy charge. Bertino also pleaded guilty on Thursday to a charge of unlawfully possessing firearms.
[ >> Group wearing Proud Boys clothing attended Lincoln County school board meeting ]
Bertino has agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department’s investigation of the role that Proud Boys leaders played in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Former Proud Boys national chairman Henry “Ënrique” Tarrio and four other group members also have been charged with seditious conspiracy.
(WATCH BELOW: Oath Keepers leader and Proud Boys allegedly coordinated before Capitol attack)
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