Sedition convictions in the United States are rare. VERY rare, but a bunch of people that call themselves “patriots” are making it very common after the crap they pulled on Jan. 6, 2021. One of them a member of a group founded by a Canadian, is the latest to do so.

Jeremy Bertino, 43, a North Carolina Proud Boys chapter leader, has plead guilty to two federal charges involving seditious conspiracy and illegal firearm possession. The sedition charge carries a term of up to 20 years and the firearm charge can result in a 10 year term since Bertino is a New York felon and is thus a prohibited firearm possessor under federal law.

Of the previously charged seditious conspiracy defendants — Proud Boys Joseph Biggs, Charles Donohue, Ethan Nordean, Dominic Pezzola, Zach Rehl and ex-chairman Enrique Tarrio — Bertino is the first Proud Boy to plead guilty. As a condition of his two count guilty plea being accepted, he will have to “fully cooperate” with federal law enforcement and testify against other Proud Boys, and possibly, on matters involving Oath Keepers and Proud Boys interactions concerning the January 6th, 2021 insurrection effort.

Bertino’s guilty plea entry took place as Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes’ January 6th trial was underway down the hall. The seditious conspiracy trial for the above-named Proud Boys is slated for this December. As a key assistant to Tarrio, Bertino could provide critical information and testimony, not only on Proud Boys and Oath Keepers generally, but also Roger Stone, Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn (Ret.), and Biggs. Biggs is a former Infowars / Alex Jones employee.  Stone and Flynn have ready access to former President Donald Trump and “Stop The Steal” organizer Ali Alexander, and Tarrio communicated with Stone before and after the insurrection effort. Further, Stone communicated with Rhodes in the wake of the 2020 presidential election. 

Moreover, because Bertino’s Belmont, North Carolina home was subject to a federal search warrant, he is highly likely to testify on direct evidence matters such as his cell phone contents which was unlocked and unencrypted at the time of seizure. A further legal “carrot” would also be that Bertino was allowed to plead guilty to only one firearm charge although five  — including three .22 caliber items such as a widely-ridiculed AR pattern Mossberg — were seized in the search warrant action. 

Returning to insurrection effort communications, Tarrio created a November, 2020 podcast that Jones promoted on Infowars, involved Biggs and Nordean, and promoted the idea of  infiltrating the presidential inauguration. Later, on the day before the insurrection effort, Tarrio met with Stone in a Washington, D.C. parking garage, as well as with Rhodes. Tarrio and Bertino were not in Washington, D.C. on January 6th, but are accused of communicating and coordinating with each other — Tarrio had been ordered out of the district by judicial decree, and Bertino had been involved in a knife fight the month before and was still recuperating. 

All of the other Proud Boys and Oath Keepers so far charged with seditious conspiracy have pled not guilty.