You don't have to be sympathetic to the January 6 rioters and their tantrum over the outcome of the 2020 presidential election to have serious doubts about the U.S. government filing seditious conspiracy charges against the former leader of the Proud Boys and other members of the organization. While the law isn't the straight-up attack on free speech represented by past laws against sedition, it is an inherently political charge most often wielded by insecure officials against political adversaries. To the extent that the defendants did what prosecutors claim, the acts are already covered by laws that don't evoke the stink of show trials.
"A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned a superseding indictment today charging five members of the Proud Boys, including the group's former national chairman, with seditious conspiracy and other charges for their actions before and during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021," according to the U.S. Department of Justice. "As alleged in the indictment, from in or around December 2020, [Henry "Enrique"] Tarrio and his co-defendants, all of whom were leaders or members of the Ministry of Self Defense [chapter of the Proud Boys], conspired to prevent, hinder and delay the certification of the Electoral College vote, and to oppose by force the authority of the government of the United States. On Jan. 6, 2021, the defendants directed, mobilized and led members of the crowd onto the Capitol grounds and into the Capitol, leading to dismantling of metal barricades, destruction of property, breaching of the Capitol building, and assaults on law enforcement. During and after the attack, Tarrio and his co-defendants claimed credit for what had happened on social media and in an encrypted chat room."
