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Government Corruption

Proud Boys ex-leader gets record 22 years in prison for Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy

2023-09-06

[IsraelTimes] Enrique Tarrio sentenced for orchestrating far-right holy warrior group’s attack on US Capitol in 2021 in bid to stop certification of Biden’s presidential election victory over Trump

Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was sentenced Tuesday to 22 years in prison for orchestrating his far-right holy warrior group’s attack on the US Capitol in a failed bid to stop the transfer of presidential power after Donald Trump
...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party...
lost the 2020 election.

Tarrio’s sentence is the longest so far among more than 1,100 Capitol riot cases, topping the 18-year sentences that Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and one-time Proud Boys leader Ethan Nordean each received after juries convicted them of seditious conspiracy and other charges.

It comes as the Justice Department prepares to put Trump on trial at the same courthouse in Washington on charges that the then-president illegally schemed to cling to power that he knew had been stripped away by voters.

The Tarrio case — and hundreds of others like it — function as a vivid reminder of the ~~violent~~ mostly peaceful chaos fueled by Trump’s lies around the election and the extent to which his false claims helped inspire right-wing hard boyz who ultimately stormed the Capitol to thwart the peaceful transfer of power.

Rising to speak before the sentence was handed down, Tarrio pleaded for leniency, describing Jan. 6 as a "national embarrassment" and apologizing to the coppers who defended the Capitol and the politicians who fled in fear. His voice cracked as he expressed remorse for letting down his family and vowed that he is done with politics.

"I am not a political zealot. Inflicting harm or changing the results of the election was not my goal," Tarrio said.

"Please show me mercy," he said, adding, "I ask you that you not take my 40s from me."

US District Judge Timothy Kelly, who was appointed to the bench by Trump, said Tarrio was motivated by "revolutionary zeal" to lead the conspiracy that resulted in "200 men, amped up for battle, encircling the Capitol." Noting that Tarrio had not previously shown any public remorse for his crimes, the judge said a stiff punishment was necessary to deter future political violence.

"It can’t happen again. It can’t happen again," the judge repeated.

Standing before the judge in orange jail garb, Tarrio lowered his head after the sentence was read, then squared his shoulders and put his hands before his back.

Prosecutors had sought 33 years behind bars for Tarrio, describing him as the ringleader of a plot to use violence to shatter the cornerstone of American democracy and overturn the election victory by Joe The Big Guy Biden
Joe <q>The Big Guy</q> Biden

...46th president of the U.S. We hold these truths to be self-evident. All men and women created ... by the — you know — you know, the thing...
, a Democrat, over Trump, the Republican incumbent.

Prosecutor Conor Mulroe told the judge that the Proud Boys came dangerously close to succeeding in their plot to stop the transfer of presidential power — and noted that "it didn’t take rifles or explosives."

"There was a very real possibility we were going to wake up on Jan. 7 in a full-blown constitutional crisis," Mulroe said, with "300 million Americans having no idea who the next president would be or how it would be decided."

The prosecutor urged the judge to ensure that "consequences are abundantly clear to anyone who might be unhappy with the results of 2024, 2028, 2032 or any future election for as long as this case is remembered."

Tarrio wasn’t in Washington, D.C, when Proud Boys members joined thousands of Trump supporters, who smashed windows, beat coppers and poured into the House and Senate chambers as politicians met to certify Biden’s victory. But prosecutors say the 39-year-old Miami resident organized and led the Proud Boys’ assault from afar, inspiring followers with his charisma and penchant for propaganda.

Tarrio had been arrested two days before the Capitol riot on charges that he defaced a Black Lives Matter banner during an earlier rally in the nation’s capital, and he had complied with a judge’s order to leave the city after his arrest.

The judge agreed with prosecutors that the Proud Boys’ crimes could be punished as "terrorism" — increasing the recommended sentence under federal guidelines. But he ultimately sentenced the Proud Boys to prison terms shorter than what prosecutors were seeking.

The backbone of the government’s case was hundreds of messages exchanged by Proud Boys in the days leading up to Jan. 6 that prosecutors say showed how the hard boyz saw themselves as revolutionaries and celebrated the Capitol attack, which sent politicians running into hiding.

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."

Tarrio’s lawyers denied the Proud Boys had any plan to attack the Capitol or stop the certification of Biden’s victory. They argued that prosecutors used Tarrio as a scapegoat for Trump, who spoke at the "Stop the Steal" rally near the White House on Jan. 6 and urged his supporters to "fight like hell."

Tarrio is the final Proud Boys leader convicted of seditious conspiracy to receive his punishment. Three fellow Proud Boys found guilty by a Washington jury of the rarely used sedition charge were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 15 to 18 years.

The Justice Department is appealing the 18-year prison sentence of Rhodes, the Oath Keepers founder, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy in a separate case, as well as the sentences of other members of his antigovernment militia group that were lighter than what prosecutors had sought.

Prosecutors had requested 25 years in prison for Rhodes.

Posted by:trailing wife

#5 I believe Bill Ayers got zero years for setting off bombs at the Pentagon and the Capital. No one is above the law!

Posted by: Airandee 2023-09-06 15:22

#4 Go out blasting.
Unless you'd rather die in jail.
You wont get a fair trial in Woke America.
#KnowYourCaste

Posted by: mossomo 2023-09-06 15:00

#3 And the crowd of protestors that disrupted the Senate's Kavanaugh nomination hearing? 22 years for them as well?

Posted by: Tom 2023-09-06 11:53

#2 The 39-year-old was not in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021, due to his arrest in the city two days prior for allegedly defacing a Black Lives Matter banner.

Posted by: Skidmark 2023-09-06 11:46

#1 Seems like throwing Molotov Cocktails in an attempt to immolate police officers should be punished at a higher level than what was done by Tarrio.

Posted by: Super Hose 2023-09-06 11:17

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