Politics

A 'Straight Pride’ organiser has been indicted for allegedly taking part in Jan 6th Capitol riot

A 'Straight Pride’ organiser has been indicted for allegedly taking part in Jan 6th Capitol riot

Related video: Where are they now? The faces of the January 6 US Capitol riot

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A Massachusetts man who played a part in organising a 2019 ‘Straight Pride’ event in Boston to “embrace the vibrancy of the straight community” has found himself indicted on charges relating to the January 6 insurrection on the US Capitol.

Mark Sahady, 48, is reportedly the vice president of an organisation calling itself ‘Super Happy Fun America’, which is anything but ‘super’ or ‘happy’ as it was revealed the group has links to far-right and white nationalist extremists.

According to a US Department of Justice (DOJ) press release, Sahady was indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia for the crime or felony of “obstruction of an official proceeding”.

That’s added on top of previous charges concerning entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

It was the obstruction charge which was added last week, and it carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

“His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election,” the press release alleges.

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It also states Sahady started tweeting claims that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” from around 16 November. He went on to detail plans of sending buses of people to Washington DC to “get wild”.

According to the DOJ, more than 1,000 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 US states for alleged involvement in the insurrection, with more than 320 of these charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.

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