Page:Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.pdf/534



size "tripled" in response to President Trump's apparent endorsement, according to Jeremy Bertino, a Proud Boys leader who has pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy in relation to January 6th. Similarly, Enrique Tarrio and another Proud Boys member, George Meza, testified to the Select Committee that the President's comment was a pivotal, energizing moment. The group started selling merchandise with their new "stand back and stand by" slogan the very same night.

As the presidential votes were tallied, the Proud Boys became agitated at the prospect that President Trump would lose. On November 5, 2020, Biggs posted on social media, "It's time for fucking war if they steal this shit." As former Vice President Joe Biden's victory became apparent, Proud Boys leaders directed their ire toward others in the Government. Biggs, speaking on a Proud Boys livestream show with Tarrio and others, warned that government officials are "evil scum, and they all deserve to die a traitor's death." Ethan Nordean—another Proud Boys leader who allegedly helped lead the attack at the Capitol—responded, "Yup, Day of the Rope," referring to a day of mass lynching of "race traitors" in the white supremacist novel The Turner Diaries.