Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and three other members of the far-right extremist group were convicted Thursday of a plot to attack the U.S. Capitol in a desperate bid to keep Donald Trump in power after the Republican lost the 2020 presidential election.

A jury in Washington, D.C., found Tarrio and three lieutenants guilty of seditious conspiracy after hearing from dozens of witnesses over more than three months in one of the most serious cases brought in the stunning attack that unfolded on Jan. 6, 2021, as the world watched on live TV.

Jurors cleared a fifth defendant — Dominic Pezzola — of the sedition charge, though he was convicted of other serious felonies. The judge excused the jury without delivering a verdict on some counts — including another conspiracy charge for Pezzola — after jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision.

“The Justice Department will never stop working to defend the democracy to which all Americans are entitled,” Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters after the verdict.

The verdict comes after a trial that took more than twice as long as originally expected, slowed by bickering, mistrial motions and revelations of government informants in the group. Securing the conviction of Tarrio, a high-profile leader who wasn’t at the riot itself, could embolden the Justice Department as a special counsel investigates Trump, including key aspects of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Special Counsel Jack Smith in recent weeks has sought the testimony of many people close to Trump. They include former Vice President Mike Pence, who testified before a grand jury last week, likely giving prosecutors a key first-person account about certain conversations and events in the weeks preceding the riot.

Tarrio was a top target of what has become the largest Justice Department investigation in American history. He led the neo-fascist group — known for street fights with left-wing activists — when Trump infamously told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” during his first debate with Biden.

Tarrio wasn’t in Washington on Jan. 6, because he had been arrested two days earlier in a separate case and ordered out of the capital city. But prosecutors said he organized and directed the attack by Proud Boys who stormed the Capitol that day.

In addition to Tarrio, a Miami resident, three other Proud Boys were convicted of seditious conspiracy: Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl.

Tarrio, Nordean, Biggs and Rehl were also convicted of obstructing Congress’ certification of Biden’s electoral victory and obstructing law enforcement as well as two other conspiracy charges. The four were cleared of an assault charge stemming from Pezzola, who stole an officer’s riot shield.

Rehl’s attorney, Carmen Hernandez, said her client “continues to maintain his innocence.” Lawyers for Biggs and Pezzola declined to comment. An attorney for Tarrio declined to comment.

Prosecutors told jurors the group viewed itself as “Trump’s army” and was prepared for “all-out war” to stop Biden from becoming president.

The Proud Boys were “lined up behind Donald Trump and willing to commit violence on his behalf,” prosecutor Conor Mulroe said in his closing argument.

The backbone of the government’s case was hundreds of messages exchanged by Proud Boys in the days leading up to Jan. 6 that show the far-right extremist group peddling Trump’s false claims of a stolen election and trading fears over what would happen when Biden took office.

As Proud Boys swarmed the Capitol, Tarrio cheered them on from afar, writing on social media: “Do what must be done.” In a Proud Boys encrypted group chat later that day someone asked what they should do next. Tarrio responded: “Do it again.”

“Make no mistake,” Tarrio wrote in another message. “We did this.”

Defense lawyers denied there was any plot to attack the Capitol or stop Congress’ certification of Biden’s win. A lawyer for Tarrio sought to push the blame onto Trump, arguing the former president incited the pro-Trump mob’s attack when he urged the crowd near the White House to “fight like hell.”

“It was Donald Trump’s words. It was his motivation. It was his anger that caused what occurred on January 6th in your beautiful and amazing city,” attorney Nayib Hassan said in his final appeal to jurors. “It was not Enrique Tarrio. They want to use Enrique Tarrio as a scapegoat for Donald J. Trump and those in power.”

The Justice Department hadn’t tried a seditious conspiracy case in a decade before a jury convicted another extremist group leader, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, of the Civil War-era charge last year.

Over the course of two Oath Keepers trials, Rhodes and five other members were convicted of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors said was a separate plot to forcibly halt the transfer of presidential power from Trump to Biden. Three defendants were acquitted of the sedition charge, but convicted of obstructing Congress’ certification of Biden’s electoral victory.

The Justice Department has yet to disclose how much prison time it will seek when the Oath Keepers are sentenced later this month.

Russia attacked several Ukrainian cities with explosive drones overnight, though Ukraine said Thursday that it had managed to shoot most of them down. Russia called the attack payback for what it claims was an alleged attempt by Ukraine to attack the Kremlin in Moscow using drones on Wednesday.

The Kremlin claimed the attack was an attempt by Ukraine to assassinate President Vladimir Putin and, on Thursday morning, Russia’s government accused the U.S. of planning it.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied any Ukrainian role in an attack on the Kremlin, insisting that his country’s forces were acting only to defend Ukraine’s sovereign territory — though there has been evidence over the last week that they’re also stepping up attacks, using drones, on Russian infrastructure, both in occupied territory and across the border inside Russia.

Russia quickly vowed to retaliate for the alleged double drone strike, calling it a “planned terrorist act.” The Kremlin said both drones were shot down before they struck Putin’s official residence, but it has offered no evidence to back up its claims.

U.S. officials have been working to confirm the origins of the alleged drone attack, but a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday that he would “take anything coming from the Kremlin and the Russian Federation with a shaker of salt.”

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday dismissed the pleas of ignorance from both Ukraine and the U.S. as “ridiculous.”

“We know very well that decisions on such actions and such terrorist attacks are made not in Kyiv, but in Washington,” he said, claiming that Ukraine was “doing what it is told to do” by the U.S. and alleging that Ukraine’s military objectives “are not determined by Kyiv, but they are determined in Washington, and then these goals are brought to Kyiv so that Kyiv fulfils them.”

“Washington must clearly understand that we know it,” Peskov said.

BMW has issued a “do not drive” warning to the owners of about 90,000 older models in the U.S. because of defective airbags that might explode in a crash.

The affected vehicles are 2000-2006 model years that have been recalled before due to known issues with Takata-manufactured airbag inflators. However, BMW decided to escalate previous recall notices to a “Do Not Drive” order because the affected vehicles have not been brought in for repairs.

“Owners of affected BMWs that have not had their vehicles inspected and repaired should not consider them safe to drive,” BMW said. The order affects the 2000-2006 BMW 3 Series (E46) models including M3, 2000-2003 5 Series (E39) including M5, and 2000-2004 X5s (E53).

Takata’s airbag inflators used volatile ammonium nitrate to inflate the airbags in a crash. However, the chemical can deteriorate over time when exposed to heat and humidity and blow apart a metal canister, hurling shrapnel that can injure or kill drivers and passengers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Thursday that owners of affected BMW models should park their cars immediately and contact BMW for more information.

“If you have a model year 2000-2006 BMW with a recalled Takata airbag, get it repaired immediately – for free. These inflators are two decades old now and, with every day that passes, they become even more dangerous as they can rupture even in a minor crash,” NHTSA Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman said in a statement.

Since 2009, the exploding airbags made by Takata have killed at least 33 people worldwide, including 24 in the United States. Most of the deaths and about 400 injuries have happened in U.S., but they also have occurred in Australia and Malaysia.

BMW emphasized that replacement parts are available, and the repairs will be done free of charge. The company said that remote technicians can be sent to wherever the vehicle is located and repairs can be completed on site, typically in under an hour. If remote repair is not available for a customer with an affected vehicle, BMW will have the car picked up at the customer’s home or office free of charge, repaired and returned when the service is complete.

“We cannot state strongly enough just how urgent it is for our customers to take this warning seriously. We know these airbags only become more dangerous over time, which is why we are taking yet another step to get these parts out of our vehicles. Customers must park these vehicles immediately and take a few moments to check if their vehicle is safe for them and their family members to drive”, said Claus Eberhart, vice president of Aftersales BMW NA.

“Repairing these vehicles is quick, easy to arrange, and is completely free of charge,” Eberhart added.

There are several ways customers can contact BMW to have their vehicles serviced.