Judge refuses to dismiss alleged Proud Boys leaders’ charges

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
Associated Press

A federal judge has refused to throw out an indictment charging four alleged leaders of the far-right Proud Boys with conspiring to attack the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral victory. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly on Tuesday rejected defense attorneys’ arguments that Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Charles Donohoe are charged with conduct that is protected by the First Amendment right to free speech. The case against the four men is a focus of the Justice Department’s sprawling investigation of the Jan. 6 insurrection.