The Proud Boys jury hasn't even been seated yet, and the defense already says it's biased

The jury pool for the Proud Boys sedition trial is made up of 45 people who have promised to be fair.

Most of the people in that pool expressed strong negative views of the anti-goverment group, which included some who called them racist, violent, anti-Semitic and a threat to both democracy and national security.

The Proud Boys are considered a violent, right-wing hate group by both the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Council.

The former Proud Boys national chairman and four of his top lieutenants are accused of masterminding the group's plot to storm the Capitol and block Congress from certifying the 2020 presidential election results.

A person familiar with the defense team's strategy says they will make a last-ditch venue change motion after the jury is seated.

The person, who Insider provided anonymity to so they could speak on the record, said that the judge denied the defense's venue change motions because they thought they would be able to get a fair jury.

As soon as the 12 jurors and four alternates are seated on Monday, they'll make that argument again. They will tell the judge that this is ridiculous after seeing the jury.

Defense lawyers want to move the case out of the District of Columbia because of the recent televised hearings of the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack.

It's a request they've made in court and in legal filings for months and which the trial judge has repeatedly rejected.

Ross Suter, a Philadelphia-based jury consultant with a litigation consulting and jury research company, predicts that he will almost certainly reject a venue change on Monday.

The potential jurors were aware of the Proud Boys and January 6th since they live in DC.

The jury wants to do the right thing. They are going to do their best to follow the instructions the judge gives them.

It's true in any case with a notorious person like Harvey Weinstein or George Floyd.

During the tax-fraud trial of the Trump Organization in New York last month, jurors worked hard to remain impartial while weighing the evidence.

In Manhattan, where just 12 percent voted for the former president, jurors referred to Trump as "Bob Smith" to remind themselves that he must be treated the same as any other business owner.

Suter said that justices take their responsibility seriously.

They try to do the right thing because someone could potentially go to jail for a long time. The judge will show them how to remain impartial.

The defense teams for Tarrio and his co-conspirators are bracing for the worst when the jury is seated.

His lawyer wrote to the judge four days before Christmas, objecting to the continued qualification of jurors who had expressed prejudice against the Proud Boys.

The views included "preconceived beliefs that the Proud Boys are a dangerous armed group, a 'hate filled group,' 'racists' and other clearly biased views followed by assertions that they nonetheless can be fair."

She said that it was difficult to see how prejudiced the jury panel would be if they were put together in a single jury.

Defense lawyers are likely to spend the weekend looking over public records on 45 or so prospects.

The defense will want the strikes to be well-researched because of the limited number of chances to strike or reject individual jurors.

The background of these people will be looked into by both sides. I'd be surprised if they aren't doing a deep dive this weekend.

Tuesday is when opening statements are expected to be made. The trial is expected to go on through February.