The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has issued a protective order regarding information to be made available to the lawyers of Rochester, New York Proud Boys member Dominic “Spaz” Pezzola, who was arrested for his part in the January 6th domestic terrorist attack at the Capitol.
The order mandates that neither defense counsel nor the defendant can publicly release information that must be legally provided to the defendant so that he can develop his legal strategy for court. The order specifies that information regarding confidential informants; sources and methods for collecting sensitive information; and information that will be used in other litigation cannot be disclosed. It also protects the identify and personal information of persons involved in the case.
The requirement is not unusual in cases where multiple defendants are being tried separately for the same or similar crimes stemming from the same incident. However, given Pezzola’s association with the Proud Boys, the order raises questions about if the FBI had an informant with the group prior to the January 6th attack. Enrique Tarrio, the purported leader of the Proud Boys was reported to have been a law enforcement informant after his 2012 arrest.