‘Straight Pride’ organiser indicted for alleged participation in January 6 Capitol insurrection
Pro-Trump supporters storm the US Capitol on 6 January, 2021. (Getty/ Samuel Corum)
One of the organisers of a “Straight Pride” parade has been indicted for his alleged participation in the 6 January Capitol insurrection in 2021.
Mark Sahady of Malden, Massachusetts, who helped organise a “Straight Pride” event in Boston in 2019 is facing a felony charge of “obstruction of an official proceeding”, the Boston Herald reported.
Sahady, 48, is the vice president of Super Happy Fun America (SHFA), a right-wing activist group with alleged links to far-right and white nationalist organisations.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Sahady is now facing charges related to 6 January that could land him in prison for up to 20 years and a fine of up to $250,000 (slightly more than £200,000).
According to court documents, the SHFA member is “alleged to have posted several messages prior to the breach of the US Capitol, calling for ‘millions of Americans’ to ‘show up in DC on January 6 to support the legitimate president, Donald Trump, and show Democrats what they will be facing if they continue to try and steal the presidency’.”
The night before the 2021 events, the group bragged that they were sending bus-loads of people to the American capital.
Shortly after 6 January, the SHFA Twitter account posted: “The America First movement will live on even without Trump in the White House.”
Sahady was reportedly arrested on 19 January 2021 for alleged links to the events at the Capitol.
The Department of Justice (DoJ) says that Sahady was initially charged with “entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority”, and “disorderly or disruptive conduct”.
In March 2022, the courts added a charge of “disorderly conduct in a Capitol building”. He was then charged with “parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building”.
The indictment, filed on 5 April, adds the felony charge.
“His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the US Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election,” documents read.
According to the DoJ, more than 1,000 individuals have been arrested across almost all 50 states for alleged participation in events on 6 January.
