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Probably Could Have Predicted That Proud Boy Dominic Pezzola Would Be Combative On The Witness Stand [1]

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Date: 2023-04-22

Pezzola estimates this is less than $1,000 worth of damage so it should be a misdemeanor.

Closing arguments in the Proud Boys Seditious Conspiracy Trial are due to begin Monday. This week, however, was the Dominic Pezzola show…

x Fifteen minutes into cross-examination, Dominic Pezzola is already agitated and combative. Kenerson hasn't even gotten started yet. — Jordan Fischer (@JordanOnRecord) April 20, 2023

The dishonored ex-Marine refuses to take responsibility for his actions...

The New York Times

Among the five men on trial, Mr. Pezzola was arguably the most violent on Jan. 6, scuffling with a police officer in the crowd outside the Capitol and ultimately making off with his plastic riot shield. After Mr. Pezzola used the shield to smash a window at the building, he rushed inside with the first wave of rioters and took a video of himself smoking what he described as a “victory” cigar. He sought to explain all of this to the jury by claiming that his military training as an infantryman had simply kicked in at a moment of high stress. “In a situation like this,” he said on Wednesday, “total saturation of adrenaline enters your body — almost like being on autopilot.” (snip) But Mr. Pezzola seemed to lose his cool under questions from Erik Kenerson, one of the prosecutors on the case. Their clash began when Mr. Kenerson led Mr. Pezzola through a series of questions about his belief in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6 that “civil war was imminent” and that there was a “battle” afoot “between good and evil.”

This disgrace to the Corps has forsaken all honor and blamed the police for the violence he caused...

Politico

Pezzola leveled conspiracy theories, repeatedly attempting to work in mentions of Ray Epps, a former Oath Keeper from Arizona who has become the subject of Trump allies’ false claims that he acted as a government operative. (Epps was visible in several videos nearby Pezzola and other Proud Boys leaders.) (snip) Kenerson spent hours undercutting Pezzola’s claims that he spent most of his time at the Capitol spontaneously reacting to “police brutality” and attempting to protect himself and others from unjustified force. The prosecutor pressed Pezzola on how he was able to judge that the efforts by outnumbered police to control the crowd were unjustified, and Pezzola repeatedly acknowledged he had no expertise in the munitions that were used or how police chose to deploy them. Pezzola also repeatedly quibbled with Kenerson about whether his attempt to rip a riot shield away from an officer who had waded into the crowd was really an attempt to “take possession” of it. Rather, Pezzola said he merely wanted it to protect himself from a hail of rubber bullets and flash bangs that he said agitated the crowd. (snip) Pezzola returned the shield to an officer as he exited the Capitol about 20 minutes after he went inside, stopping to blow a smoke ring in the general direction of police after they took it from him, Kenerson noted.

Pezzola called it a “corrupt trial” on “fake charges”...

x Pezzola says he was willing to fight "just like I'm fighting the charges in this corrupt trial."



Kenerson: "You have a lot of opinions you want everyone to know, don't you Mr. Pezzola." — Jordan Fischer (@JordanOnRecord) April 20, 2023

The shitbird’s fighting to save his ass, and failing hard...

NBC News

Pezzola, who admitted that he lied to the FBI about one of his co-defendants having a firearm during the riot, also called the trial "phony" and "corrupt." He argued that he was speaking metaphorically when he said he was willing to fight for the Proud Boys, comparing his past remarks to “how I’m fighting this corrupt trial with these fake charges.” Pezzola also admitted that he was wearing a hat that said “respect is earned, beatings are free” during parts of the riot. (snip) Prosecutors had presented a journal entry in which Pezzola wrote about why he wanted to join the far-right organization. “If the time comes, I’m willing to stand first on the line to protect who I love and what we stand for," read an excerpt from the journal. Pezzola has acknowledged that he yelled at law enforcement as the mob overran them on the day of the riot. “You better decide what side you’re on motherf-----s,” Pezzola admitted he yelled on Jan. 6. “You think Antifa’s bad? Just wait.”

Remember this news from February 2021?

WUSA9

“Since his arrest, having time to reflect and see how things have revealed themselves, he now realizes he was duped into this mistaken beliefs,” Zucker wrote. “As a result of his actions, he has left his wife, children and employees in a precarious and likely disastrous position. He is consumed with guilt for having done so… Pezzola is the sole source of financial support for the family which consists of his wife and two children. His inability to support the family while incarcerated has placed them all in desperate financial straits. Pezzola regrets his decision to participate in the events of January 6. He disavows and seeks to sever any relationship and involvement in future activities of the Proud Boys or any similar groups.” In a footnote in the filing, Zucker also says Pezzola seeks to make amends, and that he has indicated his desire to begin discussions of a plea deal and acceptance of responsibility for his actions.

This trial is in it’s fourth grueling month. It’s hard to believe jury selection began on December 19th...

Associated Press

The seditious conspiracy case in Washington’s federal court, which began with opening statements in January, has been slowed by bickering between the judge and defense attorneys, repeated requests for a mistrial, lengthy cross-examinations of witnesses and other legal maneuvers that often kept jurors waiting in the wings instead of hearing courtroom testimony. (snip) The backbone of the government’s case is a trove of messages that Proud Boys leaders privately exchanged on the Telegram platform before, during and after the Capitol riot. Their online rhetoric became increasingly angry with each failure by Trump’s lawyers to challenge election results in court. (snip) Among the Proud Boys defendants, only Pezzola is accused of engaging in violence or destruction after being filmed smashing in a Capitol window with a riot shield. (snip) Key prosecution witnesses included two former Proud Boys members who cooperated with the government in hopes of getting lighter sentences. One of them, Matthew Greene, testified that Proud Boys members were expecting a “civil war” after the 2020 election. The other, Jeremy Bertino, testified that the Proud Boys saw themselves as “the tip of the spear.”

Letting Pezzola testify was a dumb idea. No wonder his friends call him Spaz…

I don’t think the jury’s going to be buying his bullshit. Do you think a verdict by the end of next week is out of the question?

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/22/2165228/-Probably-Could-Have-Predicted-That-Proud-Boy-Dominic-Pezzola-Would-Be-Combative-On-The-Witness-Stand

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